Communities create waste and need to dispose of it

Deserving recycling projects are in need of big funding boosts, believes Kirsty Connell-skinner

From bike recycling in Angus, to a restored Alpine House in Edinburgh, the devolution in landfill tax is transforming environmental and community projects in Scotland.

It’s now two years since Landfill Tax was one of the first public finances devolved to Scotland under the recommendations of the Smith Commission.

Levied on anyone disposing waste at a landfill site, the tax aims to encourage less waste and more value recovered from it. Since its introduction to the UK in 1996 it is credited with a significant shift in attitudes towards waste – as well as a significant diversion of rubbish from landfill.

At the moment, the standard rate of tax is £82.60 per tonne. And thanks to tax credits, monies raised from Landfill Tax are paid into the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund. Established in 2015 alongside the devolution of the tax, the Fund supports environmental and community projects within ten miles of landfill sites or waste transfer stations. And unlike the rest of the UK, Scottish landfill operators can contribute ten per cent more of their tax liability to the Fund than they would be able to under the UK limit.

In short, Scottish landfills pay out money to the communities they impact, investing in local projects. Some might see this as a Faustian bargain between communities and landfill operators, given that the negative impact on the health of those living near waste sites is becoming increasingly clear. A 2016 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology indicates links between living beside a landfill site with increased rates of respiratory disease and potentially lung cancer.

Ultimately though, it is communities who create waste and need these sites to dispose of it. By 2025 it is the Scottish Government’s vision that only five per cent of our waste will be sent to landfill, with the rest recycled, reused or renewed as energy. But until our zero waste society is achieved, there’s a great opportunity for deserving projects to achieve big funding boosts.

With operators having to sign up to the Scottish Landfill Community Fund, there has been a lag in seeing new funding come through. Nonetheless, there’s now a wave of much-needed projects starting to come to fruition thanks to the Fund.

In April a new skate park in Kelso achieved half its funding goal thanks to a major grant from Wren. A new £75,000 playpark in Uplawmoor opened last October with funding from EB Scotland Ltd. Angus Environment Trust supported bicycle recycling project Angus Cycle Hub to buy a new electric van in March. And in April at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh we reopened our restored Traditional Alpine House thanks to an award of £46,215 from SUEZ Communities Trust towards our £100,000 funding goal.

Less waste, more value, and a boost for local communities. Not a bad return from the things we throw away. ● Kirsty Connell-skinner is Fundraising Manager, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh