Recycling falls as public shuns zero waste plan

The Scottish Government has been accused of throwi ng away millions of pounds on a waste crusade after new figures showed a drop in household recycling.

The number of families who separate their waste has fallen to the lowest figure in seven years, a study found.

Key Scottish Environment Statistics (KSES) for 2015 also shows a fall in two categories of recycling – glass and metal .

Newspapers and magazine, cardboard and paper recycling is static and only the recycling of plastic bottles has improved.

Last month the SNP – which set up the Zero Waste Scotland quango with a £24million budget this year – launched a ‘circular economy’ consultation to ‘increase the volume and quality of materials recycled’.

But the latest figures suggest the goodwill of households north of the Border, who are waiting up to four weeks to have up to seven different types of bins emptied, may be reaching exhaustion.

Yesterday Conservative housing spokesman Alex Johnstone said: ‘The Scottish Government has r epeatedly missed its targets on recycling.

‘What’s worse, people across Scotland are enduring a massively reduced bin collection service as a result of this supposedly green initiative.

‘The public will expect minis- ters to explain why, with fewer collections, these statistics are not improving.’

The Waste Recycling Behaviour: 2000-2014 section of the KSES sets out the percentage of households s urveyed who reported recycling waste items in the past month.

It reports: ‘Data for 2014 suggests a slight decline in recycling rate for some material types, but an increase for reported recycling of plastic bottles.’

The figure shows a drop in two areas out of four areas, glass bottles and jars – down to 75 per cent in 2014 from 78 per cent in 2011, the last date surveyed. Metal can recycling fell from 78 per cent in 2011 to 77 per cent last year.

Newspapers and magazine, cardboard and paper recycling has remained static at 84 per cent.

Only collection of plastic bottles improved, from 75 per cent in 2011 to 80 per cent last year.

But overall it shows that 87 per cent of households were actively take part in recycling, the lowest figure since 2008.

Eben Wilson, director of TaxpayerScotland, said: ‘Taxpayers must know how costly this dream of zero waste is f or householders.

‘Clearly we need to preserve a clean country, but recycling at high cost may have a more adverse environmental impact than an expensive taxpayerfunded effort.’

Recycling has meant extra costs and inconvenience to taxpayers, with Dumfries and Galloway Council holding a special meeting after a new waste collection scheme in Wigtownshire cost £435,000 over forecast.

In March, Labour- run Fife Council became the first local authority in the UK to announce a trial of monthly bin pick-ups. Other Scottish councils have i ntroduced a t hree - weekly system.

It means food scraps and rubbish including soiled nappies, pet waste, used kitchen towels and sanitary products will be left to rot for weeks. A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are helping local authorities to develop a Household Recycling Charter to improve consistency of practices around Scotland.

‘We are investing £24million in 2015-16 through Zero Waste Scotland to deliver zero waste and circular economy priorities – this is a total of around £120million since 2011-12.

‘We know there is more we can do. While the 2000-2014 figures are useful, we measure progress towards Scotland’s recycling targets using the more robust annual household recycling figures.’

‘Government’s costly dream’