On Friday (20 September) the Scottish Government admitted defeat in its aim to end the landfilling biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2021 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham announced she would “very reluctantly” push the deadline back because some public and private waste managers were not yet prepared – a move which has been supported by the industry.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said it remained committed to ending the landfilling of biodegradable waste and its key priority was to ensure waste was managed sustainably.
They explained: “Significant progress has already been made towards the ban – including further strides taken since the Waste Markets Study was published in April – but it is clear that full compliance by 2021 will not be possible without significant reliance on export options, with consequent environmental and additional financial implications for local authorities.
“We have therefore accepted, reluctantly, that a transitional approach is necessary to enable some commercial operators and a minority of local authorities to fully comply with the ban.”
Concerted effort needed
Representatives from the private waste management sector said that the delay was unfortunate but necessary.
“A concerted effort is now needed to improve the public procurement framework to help get Scotland back on track and deliver the much needed alternative waste treatment facilities.”
Stephen Freeland, policy adviser at the Scottish Environmental Services Association (SESA), explained: “Faced with the prospect of sending one million tonnes of waste to England for disposal in landfill, the decision to push the ban back to 2025 seems a sensible one.
“A concerted effort is now needed to improve the public procurement framework to help get Scotland back on track and deliver the much needed alternative waste treatment facilities.”
However, Mr Freeland warned that the suggestion that the Scottish landfill tax be used as an incentive to ensure that transitional work takes place as required should be approached cautiously.
He said: “Proposals to amend the landfill tax to incentivise the pace of change deserve careful consideration, as increasingly adept waste criminals might easily exploit any price disparity between Scotland and the rest of the UK.”
‘Sensible’ implementation
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) echoed this caution as well as welcoming the delay.
Cllr Steven Heddle, COSLA Environment and Economy spokesperson, said: “The majority of councils are ready for the ban, but some face more significant challenges, due to their rural location or dependency on the commercial markets.
“COSLA has always supported the spirit of the ban and a sensible implementation. A short extension for some avoids creating bigger environmental problems than the ban solves, as well as huge extra costs which are better invested in driving our waste minimisation and recycling.”
Time
The need to delay the landfill ban demonstrates the challenges the waste management industry faces as it seeks to become more sustainable, according to the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC).
Lee Marshall, chief executive of LARAC, said: “LARAC thinks it is a sensible decision to allow extra time for suitable arrangements to be put in place to deal with biodegradable waste.
“It is good to have challenging targets but there also needs to be a pragmatic approach to the development of large scale infrastructure both on the treatment and collection side.
He added: “It shows the challenges that local authorities and the industry face in making the changes needed to move to more sustainable practises.”
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