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Scotland adopts carbon metric tool to measure recycling performance
Scotland will adopt a world-lead- ing approach to measuring recy- cling performance with its new carbon metric, details of which were published last month. The new measurement means that climate change impacts will be considered in targets for achieving zero waste from 2013 onwards.
Traditionally recycling per- formance has been measured in terms of tonnage of material. Under the new system, tonnage diversion levels will be weighted by applying a carbon factor to the materials collected, which takes into account the environmental benefits of recycling those materi- als over sending them to landfill. This is believed to be the first attempt anywhere in the world to apply climate change think- ing to waste management perfor- mance measurement. The new system has been devised to sup- port the Scottish Government’s zero waste ambitions.
Scotland is leading the way in measuring the carbon impacts of recycling operations
It will help to prioritise the materials and waste management options needed to reach the target for 70% recycling by 2025. In particular it will prioritise materials with a high carbon impact such as plastics and tex- tiles, which currently have rela- tively low levels of recycling in Scotland.
It will also highlight the rel- ative merits of different waste management options, and will support the aspiration for greater closed loop recycling markets – for example, by giving higher weighting to glass which is recy-
cled back into glass rather than that which is used for aggregates. Details of the metric can be found in a technical report pub- lished by Zero Waste Scotland and a supporting guidance docu- ment for councils, published by the Scottish Government. Commenting on the new sys-
tem, Iain Gulland, director of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Zero Waste Scotland fully supports the carbon metric and we will work with councils and others to apply it and to develop the collections and sorting infrastructure we need to meet our ambitious zero waste targets.”
The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) added in a statement: “We welcome the publication of the guidance on the carbon metric and local authori- ties’ involvement in its develop- ment. COSLA views the applica- tion of this metric solely to local authority collected wastes in the first instance.”
China set to become more self-reliant for materials
Continuing strong Chinese demand for recovered paper and plastics is leading to a growing impetus for Chinese domestic collections according to the latest market report from WRAP. The Chinese markets for recovered paper and plastics – an update, which builds upon WRAP’s previous report in 2009, highlights China’s position as the single largest destination for UK exports of recovered plastics and paper.
Over the past ten years, China’s share of UK exports of recovered paper has risen from less than 10% to 61%. The predominance of China as an end-market for
recovered plastics is even more marked, with China’s share of UK exports of recovered plastics growing from 60% in 2000 to 88% in 2010.
Despite the global economic slowdown, the Chinese econo- my is still growing rapidly and importing large quantities of recovered materials from the UK and elsewhere. However, China is increasingly tapping into its own resources of domestically- recovered materials.
Looking ahead, Chinese demand for recovered paper and recovered plastics is expected to continue to grow over the next five years. Imports are expected
to remain an important part of China’s supply of recovered mate- rials, but the country seems likely to become more self-reliant. For the first time the report reveals a comprehensive picture of end uses of
recovered plas-
tics in China. The available data show a diverse range of end uses in three main sectors: packaging, construction and appliances. The analysis highlights that recovered plastics tend to be used to manufacture products destined for the Chinese domestic mar- ket, which in turn links future prospects for recovered plastic demand closely to developments in Chinese domestic economy.
Inside brief A sorting
and recycling
facility for mixed house- hold plastic packaging is up and running in Redcar, Middlesbrough. Operated by Biffa Polymers, it will sort, wash and
process
mixed plastics, process- ing 15,000tpa rising to 20,000tpa by April 2012.
Cory Environmental’s £25M MRF in Wandsworth, London, was
opened by
HRH The Princess Royal last month. It will process over 84,000tpa of dry recyclables from the Western Riverside Waste Authority area.
The contract for Wakefield Council’s waste manage- ment PFI is back on track as a result of a new arrange- ment put in place by Babcock and Shanks. The companies
have entered
into a ‘teaming agreement’ to deliver the project for the council.
Zero Waste Scotland has announced that Transport Scotland is the latest organi- sation to sign up to its target of halving waste to landfill. The initiative is challenging the construction industry to support the goal as part of the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan.
The CBI has appointed Rhian Kelly as its director of business environment. Kelly will head up the CBI’s work on climate change, environment and energy. Kelly has replaced Dr Neil Bentley who has become CBI deputy director-general.
April 2011 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 5
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