Businesses dump 60% of all waste

Rob Edwards, Environment Editor

TWO-THIRDS OF the waste produced by Scottish businesses is still being dumped in landfill sites, swamping householders' efforts to recycle more of their rubbish.

Although ministers have invested heavily in schemes to increase domestic recycling, they have been accused of failing to tackle the mountains of waste generated by factories, shops, hotels and restaurants.

A survey for the government's green watchdog, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), reveals that nine million tonnes of rubbish a year is produced by commercial and industrial premises. Only 2.35 million tonnes of this is recycled, with six million tonnes ending up as landfill. As this rots it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
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The amount of business waste dwarfs that of ordinary households. In the year to March 2006, local councils collected 3.4 million tonnes of municipal waste, 2.5 million tonnes of which was landfilled and 0.83 million tonnes recycled.

Sepa waste manager John Ferguson said more should be done to tackle the environmental effects of business waste.

He said: "It is of concern that we remain so dependent on landfill in Scotland for the management of our commercial and industrial wastes.

"Given the impact on climate change of methane from the breakdown of biodegradable waste in landfill, we will be focusing more attention on alternatives to landfill disposal for wastes from commercial and industrial sources."

He suggested a framework for business waste being developed with the Scottish Executive would begin to address the problem. Some waste could be used to generate energy in biomass plants, he said, and increased recycling would improve business competitiveness.

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