What a waste?

In 2008, Scotland produced around 20 million tonnes of waste, with households producing around 3 million tonnes, businesses and organisations producing around 8 million tonnes, with the construction sector producing the balance. Why should this be an issue?

Well first of all there is an economic cost of waste. The 2 million tonnes of food waste produced, processed, packaged, transported and prepared, had a financial cost. Also, there is a cost; £48 a tonne, for any waste taken to landfill. And that cost increases £8 a year.

There is a social cost of waste. What community wants to have a landfill site on their doorstep? And as we move towards producing energy from waste, again there is the issue of where to locate waste processing and energy plants.

Then there is the environmental cost of waste. There is less and less scope to bury waste in landfill. Incineration is a possible but contentious solution, especially if the waste is not graded and some of the planet’s finite resources are getting burnt. And there is the climate change impact arising from the gasses produced by rotting waste in landfill. That is why there is now legislation in the Republic of Ireland to divert all food waste from landfill.

To help address these issues and turn these costs into opportunities, the Scottish Government has recently launched its Zero Waste Plan. This aims to reduce the amount of waste we produce and the amount going to landfill, by encouraging waste aware behaviour. This will create up to 2000 new jobs in Scotland. It will lead to investment in new sorting stations, in developing better resource management and in developing better energy infrastructure. For example a million tonnes of food waste, treated by anaerobic digestion would produce enough electricity to power Dundee for 6 months.

Key waste issues for your organisation

Producing waste will cost your organisation money. If it is waste food or raw materials, these will have been paid for but have not been used as planned. If your organisation’s waste is to be taken to landfill, the cost for this method of disposal will increase each year.

To help your organisation manage its waste, develop a simple waste recording process and complement this by establishing waste reduction targets.

To help raise awareness of minimising waste in your organisation, use the waste hierarchy; prevention, re-use, recycling/composting, energy recovery and disposal

There will be an increasing range of waste solutions for your organisation. That may involve working with suppliers to reduce packaging, processing waste on site and producing energy/compost from it, or even turning waste into a new income stream.

For more information on these topic or to discuss its implications for your organisation, contact archie@practically-green.co.uk or phone 07584 297485

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