PKC’s recycling waste travels to the north of England for processing
A councillor says it is “unacceptable”that Perth and Kinross Council’s recycling waste is processed 160 miles away in Northumberland.
It has emerged PKC sent 10,366 tonnes of dry mixed recycling waste to be processed at West Sleekburn near Newcastle, last year.
The council confirmed that the recycling waste - previously recycled at a plant at Binn Farm, Glenfarg - has been processed in the north of England since 2016.
Kinross-shire SNP councillor Richard Watters said he first heard about the distance the recycling waste travels at a community council meeting.
But he said that there was no one available at the meeting who could fully answer his question.
Cllr Watters believes transporting waste 160 miles is“unacceptable.”
The revelation was made in the same week world leaders and delegates descended on Scotland for COP26 to address climate change.
He said:“Sending our recycling down to Northumberland is not ideal and even unacceptable from an environmental perspective.
“When this contract is up for renewal it is important the service is not just given to the lowest financial bid but to the one that helps us meet our commitments to deal with the climate emergency.
“As we move away from sending our waste to landfill sites it is imperative the any waste/recycling is processed to minimising the amount of CO² generated by unnecessary HGV transportation.”
Last week councillors were told PKC had been fined £100,000 for contaminated waste. In a move to clamp down on contaminated waste PKC has been rejecting residents’blue-lidded bins if their recycling is contaminated.
A PKC spokesperson said:“The material has been processed at West Sleekburn by SUEZ since November 2016. They are the same company who operated the plant at the plant at Binn Eco Park where material was previously processed.
“The contractor is required to follow a code of practice which sets out a standardised testing process and reporting mechanism for all the recycling material.
“This provides data on contamination and the sampling has been consistently applied throughout the whole period of the contract.
“Last year 10,366 tonnes of dry mixed recycling was taken to West Sleekburn.”
The spokesperson said PKC had been a“high performer”for many years in terms of recycling and diversion of waste from landfill.
But in 2020/21 47.4 per cent of PKC’s waste was recycled - a decline from 52.5 per cent in 2019/20 and 51.4 per cent in 2018/19.
The SNP group has estimated PKC has paid a further £1 million in landfill tax over the past three years for failing to meet its target of recycling 60 per cent of its waste.
The spokesperson said the pandemicis the main cause of the decline.