Landfill targets could be wasted

Friday, January 15, 2010

Scotland's ambitious landfill and recycling targets are at risk of not being met by councils, Audit Scotland has warned.

The Scottish target for the amount of municipal waste being recycled by 2020 is 60 per cent – 10 per cent higher than EU proposals – however the spending watchdog revealed that the Scottish Government failed to assess the cost of achieving this goal. It added that the government had subsequently commissioned a "cost-benefit analysis" of its targets.

Auditor General for Scotland, Robert Black, has warned that while local authorities have made inroads, they will struggle to meet landfill targets after 2010; by 2025 a maximum of five per cent of municipal waste is aimed to be sent to landfill.

The Protecting and Improving Scotland's Environment report reads: "Meeting targets for landfill and recycling beyond 2010 will be very challenging, as the necessary reductions in landfill and increases in recycling become more demanding.

"The achievement of European and Scottish targets for waste management after 2010 requires individual councils to continue to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. However, some of the mechanisms to do this are reserved to the UK government (eg, landfill tax), or may not be readily publicly acceptable (eg, charging households for the amount of waste they produce)."

The report also examined the progress in improving the country's air quality, the water environment and biodiversity. It found that air quality in Scotland is generally good, but highlighted 21 Air Quality Management Areas across 12 councils where the quality is poor, mainly due to road traffic pollution.

Black said local authorities should consider establishing low emission zones (LEZs) in these areas to combat traffic pollution. So far no council in Scotland has implemented a LEZ – whereby vehicles with emissions over a certain level are charged or banned – however Glasgow City Council plans to introduce the measure at a number of Commonwealth Games' locations in 2014.

Elsewhere, the audit revealed that more than half of Scotland's waters met the European standard of good ecological status.

Black, said: "It is clear that pollution from agricultural activity is now the main threat to the water environment. I welcome the progress being made by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and its partners in strengthening the advice and oversight relating to agricultural pollution. This momentum needs to be maintained with the support of the agricultural industry."

He added that "better coordination in thought and action" on policies and their affect on environmental targets was needed at both national and local level.

Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for rural affairs, John Scott said: "The lack of adequate infrastructure in place to deal with waste and waste management make Scottish Government targets wholly unrealistic and if government targets are to be met, infrastructure will have to be put in place to make this an achievable goal."

Liberal Democrat rural affairs spokesman Liam McArthur said: "Liberal Democrats revealed in September the shocking level of complacency from SNP Ministers over their own target for a zero waste society.

"Liberal Democrats also voiced concerns about the decision by SNP Ministers to remove £26million from the Strategic Waste Fund in previous budgets. The point was made that this would undermine efforts to support collaboration action by local authorities, essential to meeting waste objectives. This concern is plainly shared by Audit Scotland in its report."