Why should candidates in Scotland sign the UKWIN Recycling Pledge?
UKWIN is calling on candidates in the forthcoming Westminster elections to agree with the need to stop building new incineration capacity, and the need to minimise waste incineration by maximising waste reduction, reuse, and recycling.
Incineration is competing with recycling in Scotland
Scotland must not replicate the mistakes made in England, where high levels of incineration capacity are acting as a barrier to recycling ambitions. Wales, where a moratorium on new incineration capacity was introduced in March 2021 went on to achieve 66% recycling in 2022/23, with several Welsh local authorities reaching 70%+ recycling rates.
Much of what is incinerated in Scotland could and should have been recycled or composted. According to a study published by Zero Waste Scotland in October 2023: “Approximately 550,000 tonnes, or 52%, of residual waste is made up of waste types that can typically be recycled at the kerbside in Scotland”.
If existing incinerators in Scotland were strictly limited to using only feedstock that is not capable of being recycled or composted this would free up much of the current incineration capacity, further undermining the excuses for allowing any new incineration capacity in Scotland.
Need to close incinerator moratorium loophole
A ban on new planning permission was introduced in response to the Scottish Incineration Review led by Dr. Colin Church, but this moratorium only covers new planning permissions and not incinerators that were in the pipeline.
The Scottish Incineration Review commissioned by the Scottish Government found in May 2022 that: “…given the risks that incineration poses to human health and the environment, and the risk of lock-in, Scotland should not construct more capacity than it needs and only some of the currently planned capacity should be built”.
Since then, a number of incinerators in Scotland have entered construction and/or expanded their capacity. Construction has begun on the 180,000 tonnes per annum Oldhall incinerator and the 85,000 tonnes per annum Glenfarg incinerator, both which the Review listed as ‘Pipeline facilities’. The Dunbar incinerator has had its permit varied to allow it to burn 20% more waste which, according to the capacity report for the Scottish Incineration Review, had “not been taken into account” due to the lack of information about what was then only a potential expansion.
Urgent action is needed across the whole of the UK to prevent even more incinerators that are in the pipeline from coming forward and to restrict the expansion of existing plants. This could include for example a ban on permits for new or expanded incineration capacity and a revocation of permits for incinerators in the pipeline that have yet to enter construction.
Climate change concerns highlighted by Zero Waste Scotland
A Zero Waste Scotland report from July 2021 found that: “The carbon intensity of EfW plants operating in Scotland in 2018 was higher than alternative energy sources. Electricity-only [incineration] plants emitted nearly twice as many greenhouse gas emissions for each unit of power generated compared to the average of energy technologies supplying the marginal electricity grid in the UK in 2018. Converting these plants to combined heat and power systems would reduce their carbon intensity but not to the level of the UK grid. As a result, EfW can no longer be considered a source of low carbon energy within a UK and Scottish context”.
In an FAQ that accompanies the report, Zero Waste Scotland stated that: “Residual waste treatment, whether landfill, or incineration, is the last port of call for waste. Our position is that we can make a lot more from the materials we have before EfW [‘energy from waste’, i.e. incineration] or landfill becomes the choice of disposal. If we are going to address the climate crisis, we must reuse products far more than we do just now. All our efforts need to go into keeping materials in use and in the system for as long as possible. Incineration and landfill are reserved for residual waste once all other, less environmentally damaging options, such as prevention, reuse and recycling, have been exhausted. The development of waste management technologies must consider the national climate change strategy to ensure Scotland is not locked into management routes which are higher carbon than necessary”.
UKWIN’s February 2022 submission to the Scottish Incineration Review provided evidence that the climate position in relation to incineration in Scotland could be far worse than had been estimated by Zero Waste Scotland in 2021.
Thank you to everyone who has pledged or asked a candidate to pledge!
