The SNP is scrambling to stop up to 100 truckloads of rubbish a day being moved from Scotland to England. Their ban on “black bag” waste being dumped at landfills could lead to 600,000 tons of rubbish a year being transported over the border because Scotland does not have enough incinerators to deal with it all.
However, First Minister John Swinney said the situation is “not acceptable” and explained that “several options” were being explored to avoid it from happening. He refused to rule out a further delay to the law which would ban non-recyclablewaste, wood, textiles, paper and food from landfill. It was initially set to be enforced in 2021 but was pushed back to the end of this year.
As reported by the Telegraph, Mr Swinney told First Minister’s Questions: “I do not think that it is acceptable for a large amount of waste to be transported from Scotland to England. The landfill ban will be a significant step in reducing methane emissions in Scotland.
“Methane is a greenhouse gas that is around 28 times more potent in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Preparations have already been made for the ban coming into force and the vast majority of councils have solutions in place.”
He added: “We are working closely with the waste sector and exploring several options to ensure that we are reducing any environmental impacts as much as possible.”
SNP ministers earlier ruled out a further delay to the ban. However, Mr Swinney reiterated that “options” were being explored to prevent the rubbish being moved south of the border.
However, Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur asked him: “How would the Scottish Government respond if hundreds of truckloads of waste from England were dumped in Scotland daily?”
Meanwhile, Tory MSP Maurice Golden said the SNP recycling targets of 2013 “remain unmet”. He described the situation as “the ultimate farce”.
Douglas Lumsden, Scotland’s shadow net zero and energy secretary, added: “There should be red faces all round among SNP ministers at this news. Their landfill ban has already been pushed back several years, yet in typical nationalist fashion, they have still failed to get their ducks in a row.”
The ban on sending waste to landfill was initially planned to be imposed from January 2021 but industry leaders warned Scotland was not ready. Their lack of incinerators meant that a million tons would have to be disposed outside of the country, including the majority to England.
David Balmer, a waste expert from ERS Remediation, said: “You’re looking at the equivalent of between 80 and 100 trucks minimum running seven days a week to take this material to a facility in England or abroad.”
