Copyright scotsman
Scotland’s flagship landfill ban has “fallen apart” as permits allowing waste to be dumped for another two years are to be rolled out due to a “shortfall of energy from waste capacity”. SNP Climate Action and Energy Secretary, Gillian Martin, has insisted the ban will still come into force by the end of this year. But businesses and local authorities will be able to apply for exemptions up until 2027 - essentially delaying the ban for another two years. Ms Martin has stressed that the ban of landfilling biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) is a “crucial part of delivering Scotland’s net zero ambitions” and will come into effect on Hogmanay. But she added: “Significant efforts and investment have been made by local authorities and commercial waste operators to prepare for the ban. READ MORE: SNP accused of 'dereliction of duty' after Cabinet failed to discuss water scarcity despite dry summer “The overwhelming majority of local authorities have ban compliant solutions in place and there has been a significant expansion of energy from waste facilities in Scotland in recent years. However, due to a temporary shortfall of energy from waste capacity in Scotland, some parts of the waste sector have identified challenges in fully complying with the upcoming ban. “Taking account of these challenges, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has today published a Regulatory Position Statement outlining its approach to enforcing the ban.” Earlier this month, Ms Martin suggested that small and medium-sized enterprises in the waste sector were facing “challenges” over the ban. READ MORE: SNP 'slowing' climate action as MSPs approve targets before seeing strategy to achieve them Sepa will allow producers or managers of waste to apply for permission to continue sending waste to Scottish landfill sites, without it being considered a breach of the regulations. Landfill sites also have to get approval from Sepa to accept the waste without breaching permit. Scottish Lib Dems climate emergency spokesperson, Liam McArthur, said: "The SNP's landfill ban has fallen apart because ministers failed to do the hard graft needed to deliver their own policy. Scottish politics has never been more important - get The Steamie newsletter today "For years, the SNP and Greens had planned to circumvent the landfill ban by sending 100 lorryloads of rubbish a day to England. Now ministers have come up with a new system of red tape to dodge their own ban, where the waste still goes in Scottish landfills after a rubberstamping exercise. "Ministers ought to admit that their ban is now just a pretence and a PR exercise that will make zero difference to greenhouse gas emissions." Kim Pratt, Senior Circular Economy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “The Scottish Government has no one to blame but itself for the collapse of this flagship waste policy for a second time. It has failed to invest in and implement plans to reduce waste and recycle more, which would have solved this problem properly. “Instead, it has allowed a rash of waste incinerators to be built across Scotland, despite a supposed moratorium on such developments. Waste incinerators are not the answer to Scotland’s waste problem. They emit toxic pollution and contribute to climate breakdown. “Rather than allowing these costly and damaging policies to continue, the Scottish Government must close the loopholes in its incinerator moratorium and properly invest in the real solution to waste management: reduce, reuse and recycle.”
