This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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National Waste Plan - one year on
01/03/2004
The National Waste Plan, backed by funding of more than £230 million to 2006 for local authorities to introduce recycling schemes, celebrated its first anniversary today.
So far, £120 million has been rolled out to 22 local authorities making it easier for householders to play their part in reducing waste of resources.
Deputy Environment Minister Allan Wilson praised local authorities for the work achieved to date and encouraged them to work together to further increase the levels of recycling in Scotland.
At the first anniversary conference of the National Waste Plan, Allan Wilson said:
"The National Waste Plan is backed by significant resources which are beginning to show a real difference on the ground. Every month, recycling becomes increasingly easier for Scots with new and improved kerbside facilities, recycling bins and other services being provided across the country.
"With improved facilities more of us are realising the value of the small steps we each can make to collectively improve and enhance our environment for generations to come.
"We need to ensure that people across Scotland are aware of waste so that everybody knows what they can do to help the environment. I am pleased to be providing awards today to some of the first people to receive the Chartered Institution of Waste Management's Waste Awareness Certificate. This is aimed at people who have hands on responsibility for the waste which their company produces and helps them ensure it is disposed of in as enivonmentally sensitive a way as possible.
"We also need to reduce the amount of waste which we produce in the first place. This is a real challenge as we have become accustomed to the consumer society.
"The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have been working with consultants to produce a tool-kit on the reduction of household waste. This tool-kit will provide practical advice to local authorities and community groups on household waste reduction measures such as composting, smart shopping and re-using products and packaging.
"As part of their work on waste minimisation, the Waste and Resources Action Programme will be piloting a home composting project this year. This will complement existing home composting schemes in Scotland and is designed to find out which composting bins and methods are the most effective and how much waste is diverted from landfill by home composting.
"The Scottish Executive and SEPA will also be working on a Household Waste Prevention Strategy. This will tackle some of the key questions on how to encourage everybody to reduce the amount of waste they generate.
"Finally, I want to emphasise the benefits of partnership. In particular, local authorities must work together to achieve our aims. We are convening four strategic groups to ensure joint working by local authorities and REMADE Scotland are shortly going to put forward proposals on establishing consortia to sell recycled materials. By working together we can achieve economies of scale and better value for money."
Scotland must reach recycling and composting targets of 25 per cent of municipal waste by 2006.
Over £230 million in a three year period from 2003 is being invested in the Strategic Waste Fund. These funds are being provided to local authorities to improve recycling and composting facilities.
The First Anniversary Conference on The National Waste Plan was held in the Raddison Hotel, Glasgow. It was attended by representatives from the public, private and community sectors and was jointly organised by the Scottish Executive and Scottish Environment Protection Agency.