Scotlands recycling rate reaches 39%

Scotlands household waste recycling and composting rate reached 39%for the 12 monthsto June 2011, according to the latest figures published by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. This represents a 0.8 percentage point rise compared to the 38.2% achieved in the 2010/11 financial year.

Thecountry alsoachieved a 43.9% household waste recycling rate in the first quarter of 2011/12 (April-June). This is up by 3.1 percentage points compared to the40.8% achieved in the first quarter of 2010/11.

However, the figures were measured using an old method of calculating recycling performance, which was based on local authority collected municipal waste. A new system was introduced in April 2011 which means that waste from non-domestic properties, such as universities, hospitals and prisons, is now no longer counted as ‘household waste’.

Under this new system of reporting, Scotland achieved amarginallylower recycling rate of 43.6%for the first quarter of 2011/12. No rolling 12-month data is yet available under this system.

New method

The quarterly performance and new method of measuring recycling performance was welcomed by Scottish environment secretary Richard Lochhead.

Hesaid: Todays recycling statistics are a credit to Scottish households and local authorities. They should be proud of their efforts. Its an excellent achievement to reach nearly 44% nation-wide and proof that the zero waste agenda is gaining momentum.

The 39% recycling rate for the 12 months ending June 2011, as measured under the old system,remains below the 40% target that the Scottish Government had hoped to achieve by 2010. This means thatthe governmentis now under pressure to hit the next recycling target of 50% by 2013.

The targets were laid out in as part ofits Zero Waste Plan which was published in June 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story). The plan sets out how the government intends to increase recycling and composting rates and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

In the document the government highlighted its ambition to reach a 70% recycling rate by 2025 with a maximum of 5% waste sent to landfill.

Local authorities

Under the newway of measuring recycling performance, East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire jointly recorded the highest recycling rate for the first quarter of 2011/12, reporting that 58.9% of waste produced in both districts was recycled or composted.

Falkirk followed in second place with a recycling rate of 58.7% and Fife came in third with 56.9% of household waste recycled.

The Shetland Islands recorded the lowest rate for the quarter with just 17.6% of household waste being recycled. The authority had the lowest rate in Scotland in 2010/11 with an overall recycling and composting rate for the year of19.5%.

UK comparison

Scotland appears to have fallen behind the rest of the UKin the first quarter of 2011/12, with the exception of Northern Ireland which achieved a 42% household recycling rate in the same period. Northern Ireland remains the least successful country for recycling in the UK with a 37% household recycling rate reported for the 2010/11 financial year.

Wales remainsahead of Scotland with a municipal recycling rate of 45% for the year ending June 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story). It also remains ahead of Scotland for the first quarter of 2011/12, reaching a municipal recycling rate of 48% between April and June 2011. However, it is hard to draw exact conclusions as municipal waste is slightly different to household waste.

Whilst the figures for England have yet to be published for the first quarter of 2011, its performance is expected to be slightly better than that of Scotland as it reached a 41.2% household recycling rate for the 2010/11 financial year.