Council aims to reduce landfill waste

Argyll and Bute Council is increasing its efforts to reduce waste going to landfill. The council agreed that it needs a waste strategy that meets government regulations, explores commercial opportunities from waste, and encourages closer working with businesses. The top priority is to prevent waste in the first place, followed by re-use, recycling and recovery. In 2017, 48 per cent of waste in Argyll and Bute was recycled, composted or recovered. This has to increase substantially in order to comply with the 2021 biodegradable municipal waste landfill ban. As well as looking at technological solutions to deal with waste, the council will also consider how it can work with the third sector and businesses to redistribute surplus food.

Important

The council also states that training and education in food waste will be an important part of the strategy, possibly including online information on the best ways to cut down such waste. Councillor Roddy McCuish, policy lead for environment, development and infrastructure, said: ‘Here in Argyll and Bute we recycle almost half of our waste, and we thank our residents for their efforts. ‘There is still some way to go to meet government targets. ‘We are privileged to live in a region with natural beauty and clean air. To preserve this, we need to find a way of reducing the environmental impact of waste right across Argyll and Bute.’ The public will be asked to give their views on the options for the strategy early next year. Each area will be costed and how any technical solutions will impact on waste collection will be set out.