Environmentalists fear waste targets will not be met following revelationBy Rob Edwards, Environment Editor
Nearly 30,000 tonnes of waste collected for recycling in Scotland ended up being dumped as landfill, according to new figures released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).
In some local authorities up to a fifth of the rubbish meant for recycling was rejected as it was contaminated, or because it was the wrong kind of waste.
The revelations have upset environmentalists, who fear that government recycling targets may not be met. Some councils accept that they need to do better, but others say the figures are misleading.
Sepa supplied the Sunday Herald with a spreadsheet showing the amounts of waste collected for recycling but then rejected at the collection or processing stage during 2007-08. Across Scotland as a whole 4.4% - 29,126 tonnes - was rejected.
The proportion was much higher in a few local authorities, however. In North Ayrshire, the rejection rate was 22.1%, in Inverclyde it was 21.1% and in Glasgow it was 15.5%.
Glasgow also has one of the lowest recycling rates in the country, achieving only 18.1% in 2007-08 compared to a national average of 31.7%. Other councils with high recycling rejection rates were East Lothian, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian (see table below).
"It is deeply disappointing that in a few local authorities some waste collected for recycling has been rejected and dumped instead," said Dr Dan Barlow, head of policy at WWF Scotland.
"The Scottish government must work with these local authorities to resolve this issue."
He pointed out that to meet the target of recycling 40% of waste by 2010, at least 25% more waste would need to be recycled than in 2007-08.
"Scotland has made good progress on improving its recycling record," Barlow argued. "However, without redoubling our effort there is a real risk of failing to meet forthcoming targets and jeopardising delivery of the government's zero-waste commitment."
Sepa agreed that effort was needed to meet the targets, and pointed out the difficulties being caused by the economic downturn.
Prices for mixed plastics, low-grade paper and metal cans had fallen, and local authorities were having to store more waste.
Glasgow City Council disputed Sepa's figures on recycling that goes to waste, saying that the proportion was only 8-9%. And it insisted that the amount was coming down.
Householders were being urged to reduce the amount of unwanted or contaminated material in recycling bins. "While the council recognises the importance of minimising these losses," said a council spokesman, "a certain percentage of disposal is inevitable."
Inverclyde also argued that it had reduced the amount of recycling being rejected. "Unfortunately, a relatively small amount of contamination can force the rejection of an entire lorry- load of material intended for recycling, for example a half-empty can of paint," said a council spokesman.
John Currie, head of environment services at North Ayrshire Council suspected that Sepa's figures were "misleading".
It was the council's efforts to extract as much recyclable material as possible from mixed and bulky waste that led to rejections, he argued.
Tom Reid, a senior waste official from East Lothian Council, made a similar point.
The council was trying to improve its recycling rate by sending mixed waste to a materials recovery facility, which inevitably led to some being rejected.
The Scottish government pointed out that waste collected for recycling but then disposed of as landfill was not counted towards meeting recycling targets.
"Addressing the issue is generally a matter for local authorities themselves," said a government spokesman.
"It is understood that contamination results in many cases through well-intentioned householders placing materials in recycling bins and the system as a whole not being set up to deal with some materials, eg mixed non-bottle plastics."
Over the past 12 months Waste Aware Scotland, sponsored by the Scottish government, has been running a pilot recycling adviser programme in Dundee, Edinburgh and the Borders. One of its aims was to decrease excess waste and contamination.
