Region’s recycling rate falls short of the target
Thousands of tonnes of waste in South Lanarkshire was sent to landfill rather than being recycled last year, as new stats show the region is falling short of Government targets.
Just 40.4 per cent of household waste in South Lanarkshire was recycled in 2021 – falling short of both the Scottish Government’s target of 60 per cent by 2020, and their 2013 target of 50 per cent.
A total of 37,663 tonnes of waste was sent to the landfill instead, with the South Lanarkshire figure falling slightly short of the national average of 42.7 per cent.
No local authority across the country reached the 60 per cent target. We reported last November on how the recycling figures were falling short of South Lanarkshire Council’s own target, of 50 per cent.
The Labour list MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy attacked the SNP government’s environmental record, prompting a rebuttal from Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey.
Ms Duncan-Glancy stated: “These dismal figures show that the SNP-Green government isn’t serious about the environment.
“They claim to recognise the scale of the climate emergency but missed targets and broken promises pile up around us, much like the rubbish piling up on the city’s streets. In South Lanarkshire and right across Scotland recycling rates are stuck well below targets.
“My constituents are doing their bit with household recycling, but this absent government is not doing theirs, they’re showing no leadership and the fight against climate change is suffering as a result.
“The SNP-Green government’s usual spin won’t cut it – we need action to boost recycling rates in Rutherglen and build a greener, fairer Scotland.”
Ms Haughey insisted that the Scottish Government is taking a number of measures to encourage recycling.
“The Scottish Government aims to make Scotland a zero-waste society with a circular economy – through minimising demand on resources and maximising reuse, recovery, and recycling, rather than treating resources as waste.
“One of the most significant Scottish Government interventions in the last decade to reduce the need for plastics was through the carrier bag charge. In the first year of its introduction, the charge resulted in an 80 per cent reduction in single use carrier bags – saving the use of 650 million bags in that year alone.
“In August, the Scottish Government is introducing the
UK’s first deposit return scheme, helping to recycle billions of bottles and cans every year.
“At a national level and indeed locally through the actions of individuals and projects like R:evolve Recycle, we are making a positive contribution in response
to the climate crisis and to better protecting our environment.”
Nearby North Lanarkshire sent 19,190 tonnes of waste, or 43.2 per cent, while the local authority with the highest percentage of recycling was East Renfrewshire, with 58.9 per cent.