High Level Summary of Statistics Trend Last update: Friday, January 27, 2012
Local Authority Collected Municipal Solid Waste Arisings
A reduction in the amount of waste generated in Scotland is an indicator of greater resource efficiency and more sustainable consumption behaviour - addressing the first step in the waste hierarchy ('Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Recover'). In the first instance, the indicator measures municipal solid waste with a view to focusing on household waste when data becomes available. Further waste data will be added as the data collection is improved. In Scotland, there were 3.14 million tonnes of municipal solid waste arising in 2010/11.
Over the years there have been differences in the definitions of municipal waste. Here, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste plus commercial and industrial waste similar to that generated by households which is collected by commercial operators (i.e. not by or on behalf of a local authority).
Between 2000 and 2011 the amount of MSW arising decreased by 2% (0.07 million tonnes), although the decrease from the 2006/07 peak of 3.44 millions tonnes is 9%. The amount of MSW arising in 2010/11 was 3.14 million tonnes, a decrease of 2% from 2009/10.
The Scottish Government has a vision for a zero-waste society where all waste is seen as a resource. Scotland's Zero Waste Plan sets out radical new measures, including the development of a Waste Prevention Programme for all wastes, ensuring the prevention and reuse of waste is central to all our actions and policies.
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Source: Scottish Environment Protection Agency Licensed / Permitted Waste Management Site Returns. 2003/04 Local Authority Waste Arisings Survey, 2004/05 - 2005/06 Quarterly Landfill Allowance Scheme Return, 2006/07 - 2010/11 Waste data flow
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