The amount of waste from Scottish homes and businesses being landfilled has dropped by almost 36% in the past five years, with the amount of waste generated falling and waste recycling increasing. Between 2005 and 2009, the total amount of waste generated fell by 22%, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in its annual Waste Data Digest.
During the same period, the total amount of controlled waste landfilled in Scotland dropped from 7.3 million tonnes in 2005 to 4.7 million tonnes in 2009. The amount of biodegradable waste landfilled fell by 26%, and waste treated by waste management sites in Scotland rose by 30% over the past five years. The amount of household waste recycled and composted grew by 45% between 2005 and 2009.
“The conclusions from these latest figures are very encouraging and show that, as a nation, we are producing less waste, recycling more and landfilling less – all of which is good news for protecting the environment,” says Martin Marsden, head of Environmental Quality at SEPA. “There are still challenges ahead and we must all accept that new services, facilities and, most importantly, changes to our lifestyles will be needed if we are to further prevent, reuse and recycle our waste in Scotland. We will be working with the Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland, the waste management industry and Scottish local authorities to help make that happen.”