Thanks to Kevin Keane and BBC Online News for the Headline
The recycling target for Scotland for 2025 was 70% of waste to be recycled, the figure they’ve hit Nationally is about 42% with significant regional differences.
The amount of waste going to Landfill thankfully has been reduced by 10%, but the reality is that some of what goes in the black bin could be recycled instead of being incinerated. Some inert material such as ash from the incinerators and building rubble will still be allowed at landfill sites.
Surprisingly the Orkney Islands only managed to recycle 18.2% of their rubbish which I found strange as living in such a beautiful area you would thing that they would be very careful about their environment. Glasgow only manages 26% but the good people of North Ayrshire manage 55%.
Add to that the belief that incinerating rubbish with the benefit of using the energy produced to add to the National Grid rather than repurposing it through schemes such as reusing glass bottles, recycling aluminum cans and presumably recycling cardboard. Is it cheaper for local authorities just to burn it?
Just a point of interest, Wales has achieved a massive 64.7% of it’s waste being recycled, so well done Wales. While Scotland at one point was considering sending it’s black bin bag waste to England for incineration, until the Haulier’s pointed out that they simply wouldn’t have enough lorries to deal with the amount of waste that needed to be transported.
Frankly, recycling is a mind frame, if we want to do it we will.
