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Plastics recycling key part of waste vision
21/01/2009
A new £5 million scheme to bring plastics recycling closer to home has been announced.
With most of the plastics collected here being processed south of the border or overseas in countries such as China, the capital grants scheme seeks to improve recycling infrastructure in Scotland.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, giving his first keynote speech on waste in 2009 at the 'Zero Waste?' conference in Edinburgh, outlined his priorities for the coming year.
He said:
"The next 12 months are going to be hugely significant for the Scottish Government's aspirations to see this country become a zero waste society.
"Our National Waste Plan will be revised and we will be working to significantly increase public awareness of waste issues, including carrier bags, food waste and packaging.
"I would also expect to see further improvement on recycling and landfilling rates as we approach our first target of having 40 per cent of municipal waste recycled or composted by 2010.
"I am therefore delighted to mark the turn of the year with a new capital grants scheme to increase the amount of plastic recycled in Scotland.
"£5 million will be made available from the Zero Waste Fund over two years from 2009-10 to improve material recovery facilities and develop a home market for plastics reprocessing.
"With most of the plastic collected for recycling in Scotland taken to England or even further afield, I want to see an improved infrastructure for plastic in Scotland and hope that the new scheme will kick off significant investment in this area.
"And by getting reprocessing operations up and running within Scotland we will reduce the amount of carbon emitted by shipping plastic overseas.
"Getting these operations up and running will not just be a boost to the environment, there are considerable economic benefits including job creation to be taken advantage of - particularly welcome in these difficult economic times.
"WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme) Scotland will administer the scheme, the precise detail of which we hope to have finalised with CoSLA shortly.
"This is one of many exciting opportunities that lie ahead in 2009 but there will be challenges too. We it owe to future generations to work together to create a Zero Waste Scotland."
'Zero Waste? - Policy, Economics and Implementation' is being run by Holyrood Communications and being held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh.
The Scottish Government's key targets in relation to municipal waste are:
- To stop the growth in municipal waste by 2010.
- To achieve 40 per cent recycling/composting of municipal waste by 2010; 50 per cent by 2013; 60 per cent by 2020 and 70 per cent by 2025.
- No more than 25 per cent should be treated by energy from waste by 2025.
- No more than 5 per cent should be landfilled by 2025.
A commitment to recycle is one of the Scottish Government's 10 Greener pledges.