Authorities insist fire is ‘best way’ to manage contaminated waste

LOCAL authorities confirmed that some of the waste collected for recycling ended up being burned. But they argued this was the best way to treat waste contaminated with non-recyclable items.

“Decreasing the percentage of potentially recyclable waste sent to incineration is a priority for us,” said the City of Edinburgh Council’s environment viceconvener, Councillor Karen Doran.

“We want to make sure that all items that are put in mixed recycling bins by our residents can end up being completely recycled. Education is extremely important to help people understand what should be disposed in green and communal recycling bins.”

The council pointed out that cardboard boxes contaminated by food, dirty plastics, food wrappers and plastic bags couldn’t be recycled. It was also difficult to recycle some plastic containers, such as black microwave trays.

West Lothian Council pointed out that it had one of the highest recycling rates in Scotland. “Unfortunately, a percentage of material presented for recycling is contaminated, which is usually caused by items such as liquids, foodstuffs and black bag waste being incorrectly put into recycling bins,” said a spokesperson.

“In these circumstances, the only alternative to landfill, which has the greatest negative impact on the environment, is energy-from-waste.”

Glasgow City Council accused Friends of the Earth Scotland of

“mischaracterising” what happened to contaminated waste. “The materials city householders put in their bins are not sent to burn inside incinerators,” said a council spokesperson.

“Instead, any materials sent to become energy from waste are extensively reprocessed until they become a gas that is combusted in a controlled setting with any emissions fully in line with standards.”

Aberdeen City Council argued that the amount of recycling waste sent to energy-from-waste plants needed to be put in context. “The real issue here is not incineration but of wrong materials ending up in recycling bins,” said the council’s environment spokesperson, Councillor Philip Bell. “Cities invariably suffer from slightly higher levels of contamination due to their more densely populated nature with a higher proportion of householders using communal bins and a more transient population which make the challenge greater.”