Latest news with #ERSRemediation
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Scotland 'will send its rubbish to be dumped in England': Up to 100 truckloads will be driven across the border when landfill ban is brought in, experts say
As many as 100 truckloads piled with rubbish will have to travel from Scotland to England each day to be dumped due to a new landfill ban, experts are warning. The Scottish government is set to bar 'black bag' waste from being buried at landfill sites from this December 31 onwards - but analysts say the country lacks enough incinerators and other facilities to cope with the knock-on effects. Almost all domestic and commercial waste will be covered by the new restrictions which have been mooted by SNP ministers for years but only now being brought in. The ban was initially scheduled for 2021, only to be delayed amid the Covid-19 pandemic and warnings firms were not yet ready. But now critics say there has been insufficient progress in terms of how Scotland will deal with its landfill once the new system sets in - meaning rubbish will have to be diverted to England as well as Scandinavia. Waste management industry veteran David Balmer, of consultants ERS Remediation, told MailOnline there were worries Scotland could be left with 'rubbish piling up in the streets like in Birmingham '. The West Midlands city has become a byword for dumped garbage in recent months, with p iles of waste littering the streets during a long running bin workers' strike. 'Black bag' waste from households and companies should no longer be buried in landfill, according to the Scottish government ban coming into force on December 31. Up to 100 waste trucks each day could need sending from Scotland to England, experts say The BBC's Disclosure programme has now suggested that up to 100 daily truckloads of waste could need moving from Scotland into England as a result. The proportion of household waste that is recycled across Scotland currently stands at 43.5 per cent, according to the latest official government figures - only marginally up on 41.6 per cent back in 2013. The most recent equivalent figures elsewhere in the UK are 44 per cent for England, 51.1 per cent for Northern Ireland and 64.7 per cent for Wales. Among the materials which will now be ruled out of landfill disposal in Scotland are non-recyclable municipal waste, food, paper, textiles and wood. Supporters of the restrictions highlight how braking down such rubbish produces greenhouse gas methane, about 28 times more hazardous than carbon dioxide. But experts say the country does not yet have enough energy-from-waste incinerators up and running, with eight operational at the moment but applications for planning permission for others still pending. Campaign group Zero Waste Scotland forecasts a 'capacity gap' amounting to a surplus 600,000 tonnes of rubbish in the first year following the new ban. Local authorities and commercial waste firms in Scotland have been contacting counterparts in England to secure 'bridging contracts', the BBC reported. That could see Scottish excess waste sent across the border to landfill sites in English locations such as in Cumbria, Northumberland and Manchester. Ms Balmer has suggested that between 80 and 100 truckloads each day, seven days a week, could be needed to transport waste from Scotland to England ahead. He told MailOnline today: 'The problem is that not all the facilities we need have managed to get to completion before the new ban is implemented - not necessarily the fault of contractors or councils, it's just the system the UK has. 'But now Scotland finds itself with especially unenviable problems - nowhere for all its rubbish to go except down to England, and that then adds more stresses to England's own system. 'The last thing anyone wants to see is waste piling up in the streets, like in Birmingham - hopefully not, but we're working through what the scenarios could be. We're probably looking at about 18 months to two years to catch up.' Meanwhile, other experts have cautioned that sufficient transport might not even be available either. Alasdair Meldrum, director of waste management consultants Albion Environmental, said: 'We've probably not got the trucks and vehicles to actually move it. 'You've got the environmental impact of all that transport. It's nonsensical, but the people who have invested in incinerators are saying, "We've invested all this money because of the ban". So, we're stuck in a really hard place.' Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government has also indicated a desire for a similar block on biodegradable waste in landfill, but no such measures for south of the Scottish border have yet been tabled. Colin Church, chair of an independent review looking at incineration in Scotland, told the BBC that a shift towards incinerators was the correct choice. He said: 'It's probably the best thing that we can do with waste, with our current levels of technology, and so capturing some energy from that is a good idea.' Yet eco-groups have warned that council deals guaranteeing waste be sent to incinerators could distract from better investment in recycling. Kim Pratt, from campaigning organisation Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: 'Incineration in Scotland is out of control. 'There have been incinerators built in Aberdeen, in Falkirk - there's one this year that's going to be built in North Ayrshire as well. 'All of these incinerators have communities locally who are opposing them.' And waste campaigner Laura Young said: 'One of the worries is these are expensive facilities - expensive to run, big contracts involved in this - and it means that we need to utilise them. We built them so we need to use them.' The Scottish government has pointed to anti-waste measures such as bans on single use vapes, new charges due to be levied on disposable cups and a proposed deposit-return initiative for cans and plastic bottles. It said the 'vast majority' of councils had measures in hand ahead of the landfill ban. The government also insisted it would 'work closely with local authorities and sector bodies to monitor and review any related issues which may arise as the date of the ban approaches'. The ruling authority added: 'Any export of waste should only ever be viewed as a short-term solution.' A spokesperson for campaign group Zero Waste Scotland said: 'The Scottish Government's ban on biodegradable municipal waste to landfill has potential to help Scotland reduce our contribution to the climate crisis, as well as help drive up reuse and recycling. 'Tackling our throwaway culture is a priority for Zero Waste Scotland, and we will continue to work with the Scottish Government to evolve a circular economy in which goods and materials are valued and kept in high-value use.'
The Independent
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Scotland could send 100 truckloads of rubbish a day to England after landfill ban
A landfill ban in Scotland could see up to 100 truckloads of waste being moved to England each day due to a lack of incinerators being available to meet extra demand. At the end of this year, the Scottish government will enforce a ban on 'black bag' waste from being buried in landfill sites, but not enough energy-from-waste sites will be ready by the 31 December deadline. Zero Waste Scotland have predicted the 'capacity gap' to be around 600,000 tonnes, with some councils approaching rubbish handling operators in England. The ban was originally due to be enforced in 2021 before being delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but environmental consultants of concluded that hundreds of tonnes of rubbish till have nowhere to go despite the delay. David Balmer, a waste expert from ERS Remediation, told BBC Disclosure: "You're looking at the equivalent of between 80 and 100 trucks minimum running seven days a week to take this material to a facility in England or abroad." The Scottish government are hoping to increase recycling rates and use more energy-from-waste incinerators, with the ban hoping to reduce the amount of rubbish that needs to be incinerated. Non-recyclable items such as wood, textiles, paper, and food will be banned from landfill, as it breaks down to produce methane is around 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. However, the short-term impact is likely that emissions will increase given that that a large fleet of vehicles will have to transport the waste to sites as far away as Manchester. Alasdair Meldrum, director of waste management consultants Albion Environmental, also told the BBC: "We've probably not got the trucks and vehicles to actually move it." He added: "You've got the environmental impact of all that transport, it's nonsensical, but the people who have invested in incinerators are saying 'we've invested all this money because of the ban'. "So, we're stuck in a really hard place." In Scotland, there are currently eight operational incinerators, with additional ones currently being built. While they are still responsible for greenhouse gases, they are a third less damaging than the release of methane from landfill sites. The Scottish government said: "Any export of waste should only ever be viewed as a short-term solution." It added the "vast majority" of councils had alternative measures in place ahead of the landfill ban coming into force but they will "work closely with local authorities and sector bodies to monitor and review any related issues which may arise as the date of the ban approaches".
