Scottish waste regs target greater self sufficiency

Scotlands challenging waste regulations will attract more investment in the Scottish reprocessing sector and reduce the need for waste to be exported south of the border, the head of Zero Waste Scotland has said.

In an exclusive interview with letsrecycle.com, Iain Gulland, director of the resource efficiency body, said that the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 will provide the stimulus needed to promote investment in recycling in the country.

The regulations which come into effect on January 1 2014 will see every business given a legal duty to segregate recyclable materials, including metal, plastic, paper, card and glass, as well as requirements for businesses that produce food waste to have a separate stream for that material.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com Mr Gulland said that it would represent a missed opportunity for Scotland if the incoming regulations were to result in a higher quality of recyclate being produced, only to be exported for the benefit of reprocessing firms elsewhere.

‘Economic opportunity’

He said: The regulations are not just about diverting material out of the waste stream, it is about making economic opportunity for Scotland. There is a challenge around quality and how we get the reprocessing infrastructure that we need for plastic other materials and that is still a priority for us.

We can have businesses separating recyclables and doing the right things, but if it is exported out of Scotland that is a missed opportunity. One reason we exist is to attract investment for Scotland and that will continue to be a focus.

We see that as much as 750,000 tonnes of household waste gets exported out of Scotland for recycling every year and we are trying to change that and the regulations are intended to act as a stimulus for that. Hopefully a high quality of material will encourage businesses to locate their facilities in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Mr Gulland also commented that Zero Waste Scotland will step up its efforts to ensure that every business across Scotland is fully aware of its obligations under the regulations.

Communication

This is likely to be welcomed by the Scottish waste management sector, some of whom had expressed concern that small businesses are still unaware of their requirements under the new laws as little had been done by government thus far to promote the new regulations.

Mr Gulland said: There is a huge amount of work going on and we will lead on that alongside SEPA and the Scottish Government, where our role will be to engage with individual businesses.

We have also run a lot of regional and local events and we are doing some work now with local media to raise the profile of the regulations coming in with a big push planned in September, three months ahead of the regulations coming in through local media.

Our view is that larger businesses are easier to reach and it is the small businesses we need to engage with, so we will be working with local authorities who have a relationship with businesses in their areas in order to get that message across.

Small businesses

In order to target small businesses Zero Waste Scotland has produced a range of promotional materials which can be freely distributed by local authorities to small businesses, which informs them of what their requirements will be once the new regulations come into effect in January.

It is also shortly due to begin a telemarketing campaign which will seek to assess the extent of the awareness of the regulations among business owners, as well as serving to promote the regulations directly to businesses.

Mr Gullands comments come as the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has also announced the launch of a series of promotional briefings and seminars to highlight the changes (see letsrecycle.com story).

The regulations are part of the Scottish Governments target to recycle 70% of all waste by 2025, in a bid to become one of the most resource efficient nations in Europe.