The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Waste consultation launched in Fife in bid to avoid £15m bill
Change in law means all biodegradable waste will have to be recycled
People are being urged to help Fife Council avoid a waste bill of up to £15 million a year by 2021.
Last year the local authority sent 112,000 tonnes of waste to landfill, costing taxpayers £9.5 million.
However, due to changes in the law and a forthcoming landfill ban on all biodegradable waste, this price could rise by up to 50%.
Now the council is drawing up a waste strategy, and people are encouraged to cut waste, increase recycling and make financial savings.
Councillor Ross Vettraino, convener of the environment, protective services and community safety committee, said: “Putting waste that could be recycled into the blue landfill bin is an irresponsible waste of public money. We all need to follow the lead of those people who are already properly recycling their waste and help develop a more circular economy – where we recycle more and reuse what we can thereby reducing waste. With the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable household waste and increases in costs, waste disposal costs in Fife are set to rise from approximately £9.5 million to £15 million per year.”
Fife’s recycling rate is 55% and a further 4% of waste is diverted through energy recovery, while 41% goes to landfill.
Research shows that more than 50% of material being put into landfill bins could be recycled or composted.
Mr Vettraino said Fife’s recycling rate puts it among the five best-performing Scottish councils, but he also noted the increase has levelled off.
“With an increasing population, accommodating the consequential increase in waste growth is a real challenge,” he said.
“If more waste is sent for recycling, less waste would have to be landfilled and there would be savings in landfill tax.
“Reducing landfill waste means that we’ll have more money to spend on essential services.”
Council staff will be at Kirkcaldy’s Mercat Shopping Centre from 11am to 3pm tomorrow, when people can have their say on the waste strategy, while people can complete the survey at fifedirect.org.uk/dontwasteit.