Council agrees the way forward for a sustainable waste solution

The Council’s Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee yesterday agreed a recommendation to construct a new centralised waste management facility (Materials Recovery Facility) within the Inner Moray Firth area to recover recyclates and produce Refuse Derived Fuel, as the Council’s preferred interim arrangements for meeting the requirements of the ban on landfilling. This facility would process all of the Highland’s 83,000 tonnes of residual (non-recyclable) waste from 2021 onwards.

 Thousands of tonnes of waste are produced in Highland every year, nearly all of which currently ends up in landfill at a cost of approximately £11 million a year.  

During discussions it was highlighted that although plans to set up a MRF will be progressed with all speed, in order to find a long term solution for dealing with Highland waste within the Highlands, the Council will carry out further work to look at the feasibility in the future of constructing an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plant at the same location as the MRF site and carry out work to identify the necessary resources.

Councillor Allan Henderson who chairs the Council’s Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee said: “I strongly believe that waste produced in the Highlands should be dealt with in the Highlands. Long gone are the days when it was ok to just bury our waste out of sight and allow future generations to deal with the consequences. The national legislation changes coming in on 1 January 2021 mean, like all other councils, we will not be allowed to landfill our biodegradable municipal waste. Doing nothing is not an option and how we manage our waste needs to be an urgent priority of the council.” 

The aims of the change in legislation is to promote waste being regarded as a commodity or resource, maximise reuse and recycling, and stimulate a circular economy. The ban will also reduce the amount of methane being produced by landfill sites. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more powerful than CO2. 

 Cllr Henderson added: "Failure to address the ban on landfilling waste is a significant risk for the Council so I am glad the committee gave the go ahead for action to start."

Councillor Jimmy Gray, the Administration’s Environmental Spokesperson, added: “Highland needs a waste management solution that is sustainable, affordable, friendly to the environment and efficient (SAFE) and this is the first step.

“Our strategy needs to go beyond finding a clean and efficient way of re-using our waste. We also need to promote a massive culture change – to change people’s behaviour and attitudes to waste and litter. We need the support of everyone, as individuals, families, schools, businesses and communities, to ensure that we in the Highlands set an example for the rest of Scotland to follow.”

 

18 May 2018