The Wide World of Waste

17 March 2011

What is the Carbon Metric?

At present, we measure how effective we are at recycling by calculating the weight of all materials usefully recovered from the waste stream. This means we get a high percentage if we recyce heavy materials like rubble or scrap metal.

The main drawback of a weight based measure is that it does not reflect the benefits of recycling materials such as plastics that might not weigh as much but which may offer a more positive impact on the environment in terms of the overall carbon footprint.

This carbon metric (or measurement) system will assign a rating to all types of recyclable materials and the end uses to which they are put. This will allow us to prioritise the collection and recycling or reuse of materials according to what is best for the environment, not just what provides the most weight.

It is hoped that the carbon metric will work with the existing weight-based targets to take account of our carbon footprint while measuring our recycling performance in a more sophisticated way.

For example, a glass bottle should ideally be reused because this saves the energy and resources required to make another bottle. The next best option is a closed loop system of recycling glass bottles back into glass bottles. The lowest value option is the crushing of glass bottles to create another product like sand or a similar building material.

More details on the carbon metric are available to view on the Zero Waste Scotland website which you can access here.

6 July 2010

Scottish National Zero Waste Plan Published

The Scottish Government launched its Zero Waste Plan on June 9.  The plan is the result of two years work and an extensive consultation period on the draft strategy.  Richard Lochhead MSP, introduced the plan saying: "Scotland is embarking on the zero waste journey to protect out environment and help our economy...I am proud of the significant progress made in our journey to becoming a zero waste society, but there are still a number of hurdles in our path.  This new plan can help us overcome them and re-energise and refocus our efforts..."

The plan is now available to view on the Scottish Government website which you can access here.

23 March 2010

Scottish Government Consultation on Zero Waste

The Scottish Government carried out a round of public consultation towards the end of last year on their future Zero Waste Plan. This will provide policy direction and guidance to support their goal of Scotland becoming a Zero Waste society.  The plan is due to be published in May 2010 and there has been much speculation around what this plan might contain and what it will mean for local authorities and the general public.

We understand that the following matters are being considered;

• The change to a new broader definition of municipal waste, which will include all commercial and industrial waste that is similar to household waste, for example, office and catering waste.  This has led to a revised calculation of how much biodegradable municipal waste has been landfilled over the last 15 years and indicates that Scotland may already have met both its 2010 and 2013 landfill diversion targets.  Figures are provisional at the moment and won't be confirmed for a number of months.
• New measures expected to form part of the plan include:

-         the introduction of landfill bans;

-         the introduction of minimum quality standards for recycled materials;

-         modifying the Scottish Government's recycling targets: and

-         encouraging the recycling of materials with higher carbon benefit.

The Zero Waste team will be meeting with representatives from the Scottish Government in the coming weeks to gain a better understanding of these issues.  We'll keep you up-to-date with progress on Scotland's Zero Waste Plan in future editions.