The Scottish Government will invite evidence for the review in November and aim to examine it between December and March 2022. The review will be published “as soon as possible” once it has been completed, the Scottish Government says.
Friends of the Earth Scotland claims that without a pause while the review is conducted there could be a “a rush” of applications before any new rules come in.
However, in a statement published on 1 October, the Scottish Greens told councils they should “halt their incineration plans”, despite not announcing an official moratorium.
Mark Ruskell, the Scottish Greens’ environment spokesperson, said: “Incineration has no future as a solution for tackling the climate crisis, as it produces climate emissions and relies on current unsustainable levels of waste. Yet many local authorities have been all too keen to build even more waste-hungry incinerators as a quick fix to the forthcoming landfill ban.”
He added: “Now that the future of incineration is in question, councils should halt their incineration plans and look instead at how they can support a circular economy.”
The SNP leads a coalition in the Scottish Parliament, propped up by the Scottish Greens as the junior member. A review into the future of EfW in Scotland was one aspect of the Scottish Greens’ manifesto.
Review
Lorna Slater, the Scottish Green Party MSP and minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity, told the Scottish Parliament last week that there would be a review the into the role EfW plays in Scotland’s waste hierarchy, including the need for new capacity.
She said the Scottish Government would appoint an independent chair to oversee the review, with a view to them being in place in October.
Ms Slater told the Scottish Parliament: “We intend that the review will prioritise consideration of national capacity requirements for incineration, given the Scottish Government’s ambitious targets for waste reduction.
“The review will also have scope to consider how emissions from existing incinerators can be reduced and residual heat may be reused, and consider the societal impacts of residual waste treatment, including health and community impacts. The independent chair will determine the detailed shape of the review.”
‘Burners’ charter’
Scotland processed 1.23 million tonnes of material via EfW in 2019, Friends of the Earth Scotland claims. The campaign group claims 10 new EfW facilities are proposed around Scotland, while the country is “set to miss our 70% recycling target for 2025”. In 2019, Scotland’s household waste recycling rate was 44.9%.
This omission is a green light for waste firms to rush in their planning applications to avoid any new restrictions that come out of the review– Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland
Friends of the Earth Scotland says it is “encouraging” that an independent chair will oversee the review and its remit. However, it slammed the lack of a pause on applications.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “The problem with the proposed review is that the Scottish Government has missed an opportunity to pause the exponential increase in incineration capacity as the review takes place.
“This omission is a green light for waste firms to rush in their planning applications to avoid any new restrictions that come out of the review. It is a burners’ charter.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland called for the review to provide Scotland with a “low carbon exit strategy” from EfW and to deliver a circular economy.
‘Hugely disappointing’
Similar sentiments were expressed on Twitter by Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon, who accused the Scottish Green of making a ‘U-turn’ now they were in government.
As the Presiding Officer closes business the Scottish Government sneak this out.
No moratorium on large scale incinerators.
The Scottish Greens are supposed to be making the SNP better on environmental issues. This is hugely disappointing and another U-turn by the Greens. https://t.co/YzFYvlnJlP pic.twitter.com/P7l2rZy24R
— Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) September 30, 2021
Ms Lennon said the lack of a moratorium was a “major let-down” and the review represented a “business as usual approach”.
Wales
If Scotland was to introduce a moratorium, it would be the second country in the UK to have done so, after Wales introduced one in March 2021 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh minister for environment, energy and rural affairs, outlined details of the Welsh strategy called: ‘Beyond Recycling – a strategy to make the circular economy a reality’.
The plan outlines efforts for Wales to become “the best country in the world” at recycling (see letsrecycle.com story), as well as plans for the moratorium.
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