The data shows that the country's recycling and composting rate for the final quarter of 2008/09 reached 33.2%, an improvement on both the 30.1% posted for the same period in 2007/08, and the 31.7% recorded in the previous quarter, October to December 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, while the figures, which are submitted by councils to the government's WasteDataFlow database, continue the upwards curve in the country's recycling rate, it will still need to achieve an increase of almost 6% more in order to meet the 40% target that is expected to be reached by 2010 under Scotland's 'Zero Waste' policy.
The figures were published just hours after the Scottish Government published its draft waste plan, setting out just how it plans to increase the recycling rate even further still to 70% by 2025, for consultation (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, Kenny Boag, SEPA's national waste policy unit manager, warned that, despite the continued increase, Scotland faced a tough challenge to meet its future targets.
“It is very encouraging to see Scotland's municipal waste recycling rate continue to rise, all be it the rise on this occasion is modest,” he said.
“It is important that we reflect upon this and continue to look for practical means by which we can all redouble our efforts to further reduce, reuse and recycle our waste as meeting the Scottish Government's target of a 40% recycling rate by 2010 will be extremely challenging,” he added.
Waste arisings down
The data also shows a fall in the country's waste arisings, with 3.29 million tonnes of municipal solid waste produced in 2008/09 – a 120,000 tonne drop compared to 2007/08, and SEPA acknowledged that the recession “may have had a part to play”.
SEPA also revealed that, with the amount of waste sent to landfill in Scotland in 2008/09 reaching 1.26 million tonnes, it was well within the 1.32 million tonne upper limit set by the EU Landfill Directive.
Local authorities
The figures reveal that, in terms of individual local authorities, Clackmannanshire remained the country's best-performing council, achieving a 44.9% municipal waste and recycling rate for 2008/09.
Meanwhile, Eilean Sar remains the worst-performing of the country's 32 councils, reaching a rate of 18.6% for 2008/09.
Commenting on the figures, Scottish environment secretary Richard Lochhead said: “We are making progress but we must go further in relation to all types of waste. SEPA's latest provisional figures show that we are already recycling and composting 34.3% of our municipal waste, but we need to reach 40% by the end of 2010. The bar is set and we must work together to reach our goal of a Zero Waste Scotland.
“Our draft Zero Waste Plan maps out how we can reduce the country's waste, meet our highly ambitious waste targets and contribute to the work on climate change,” he added.
Lag
Scotland's recycling rate continues to lag behind England's, where figures published earlier this month revealed a 36.3% municipal waste recycling and composting rate was achieved for the year ending December 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Wales has also posted a higher rate than Scotland, recording a 36% municipal waste recycling and composting figure for 2008/09 (see letsrecycle.com story).
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