What is happening my waste at the minute?

The Scottish Government launched Scotland's first Zero Waste Plan in 2010 and it has two new targets that will apply to all waste: 70 per cent target recycled, and maximum 5 per cent sent to landfill, both by 2025.  Local Authorities in Scotland have recycled 44.2% of household waste collected in 2015.  The statistics show that the quantity of household waste landfilled in 2015 was 1.15 million tonnes (46.6% of household waste generated). It is no longer acceptable that such a large portion of our waste is handled in this way, landfilling is no longer considered to be a viable, long-term waste management option.

Targets and strategies to improve waste management to sustainable levels have been set by the EU and are implemented through various legislation, the Packaging Regulations being one. 

The waste management hierarchy is a core principle of EU environmental policy and sets out the preferred hierarchy of waste management options; prevention, minimisation, reuse, recycle, energy recovery, and finally landfill. Landfill is at the bottom of the hierarchy as the least favoured waste management option due to the negative environmental effects of landfill.