Scotland takes the lead in a fast-changing market

New Scottish Government figures show Scotland is making good progress towards its ambitious zero waste waste goals, with recycling rates continuing to move up and the amount of waste sent to landfill edging ever lower.

But, there is still a lot of work to do if the country is to hit its targets for recycling 70% of all waste and sending just 5% to landfill by 2025. Add in moves to ban specific waste streams from landfill and towards separate collections of materials such as food, and its obvious that the waste management sector has a big role to play in helping to make those aspirations a reality.

Shanks has recently launched a new food waste collection service for businesses in Scotlands two largest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow. This allows restaurants, bars and other companies producing significant volumes of food waste to play their part in reaching the zero waste goals without increasing their costs.

Pioneering

We have also established a pioneering anaerobic digestion facility at Cumbernauld, under a joint venture with Energen Biogas, which ensures waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill instead counts towards recycling targets. And, of course, the facility generates renewable energy as well.

Our long-term waste management contracts with Dumfries & Galloway and Argyll & Bute councils both place the idea of waste as a resource at the centre of their approach. Their emphasis on diverting waste from landfill and recovering value from material that will need to be mirrored throughout Scotland if it is to achieve those zero waste ambitions.

And, in Glasgow, we have developed a materials recycling facility which will also build on those landfill diversion goals. The multi-million pound facility handles 150,000 tonnes a year of waste and recycling with diverting waste from landfill as its core aim.

Changes

Our innovative focus on recycling and tackling the issue of organic waste ties in perfectly with Scotlands ambitions and at a time when the market dynamics in the UK waste sector are changing faster than anywhere else we operate, Scotland is at the forefront of those exciting changes.

While we await the full implications of Englands waste review, perhaps a quick glance north of the Border would provide Caroline Spelman and her ministerial team with a few helpful pointers, showing just how high levels of ambition can help to drive real change on the ground.