Consultation on a household recycling code of practice
People across Scotland are being invited to have their say on proposals to make recycling easier and more consistent.
The Scottish Government consultation seeks views on a new household recycling code of practice, which also aims to increase recycling rates and help reduce carbon emissions.
Clear standards for how councils collect and manage household waste and recycling are part of the draft code, which proposes:
a move towards more households having collections of paper and card separately from plastic, metal and cartons to reduce recycling contamination
clear and consistent definitions of materials accepted for kerbside collection to provide clarity for the public on what can be recycled
limits on general waste capacity, to encourage greater use of recycling and food waste collections
nationally recommended colours for recycling bins to make it easier to understand how to recycle
Delivering a key commitment of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act, the code has been developed through extensive engagement with local authorities, waste management practitioners and environmental organisations. The consultation now gives communities, individuals and organisations across Scotland the chance to shape the final code before it is laid before the Scottish Parliament.
It also clarifies that flexible plastic and plastic films should also be collected from households. The consultation also seeks views on proposals developed with local authorities and stakeholders regarding how food and garden waste should be collected and how rural exemptions should apply.
Modelling suggests the code could increase Scotland’s household recycling rate by approximately 2.5% and reduce carbon emissions by around 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 27,000 petrol cars.
Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs, said: “Recycling well shouldn’t depend on where you live. This code will help make sure it is easier for people right across Scotland, in both our cities and rural communities, to recycle more.
“We’ve worked closely with councils and stakeholders on these proposals and I am grateful to them for their constructive engagement to get us to this stage. However, it is clear that there’s more to get right before the code is finalised.
“I’d encourage everyone with a view, whether you’re a council, a community group or simply someone who wants to see Scotland recycle better, to take part in this consultation and help us shape the final code.”
Scotland has cut the amount of household waste sent to landfill by more than 84% since 2011, according to new household waste statistics, published today by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
The latest data show Scotland has continued to make significant progress in reducing its reliance on landfill, with the amount of household waste sent to landfill falling by a further 10.3% in 2025.
However, while the way Scotland manages household waste has changed dramatically over the last decade, progress in reducing the amount of waste generated and increasing the national recycling rate has been more limited.
In 2025, Scottish households generated 2.31 million tonnes of waste, a decrease of just 1,500 tonnes (0.1%) compared with 2024. Household waste generation remains 11% lower than in 2011, when the current time series began.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s household recycling rate fell from 44.3% in 2024 to 42.8% in 2025. While recycling rates have remained relatively stable over the last 15 years, the latest decrease underlines the ongoing challenge of encouraging households to recycle so that resources can be kept in use for longer.
Research previously carried out by Zero Waste Scotland found that around 52% of the material currently placed in Scotland’s general household waste bins could potentially be recycled. This includes everyday items such as food waste, paper, cardboard and plastic.
With recycling rates flat and landfilling reducing, incineration of household waste increased by 5.7% (49,000 tonnes) in 2025. Incineration is used to manage residual wastes placed in general bins and not separated for recycling.
Taken together, the figures paint a mixed picture of Scotland’s progress towards a circular economy. Significant reductions in landfill and increases in incineration demonstrate how waste management is evolving, but the latest figures also show there remains considerable scope to further reduce waste and increase recycling rates.
As the Circular Economy & Waste Route Map sets out, the Scottish Government has various actions underway seeking to increase recycling and divert recyclable material from general household waste, including the deposit return scheme, packaging extended producer responsibility and the forthcoming recycling Code of Practice.
Dr Richard Allan, SEPA’s Chief Scientific Advisor, said: “There has been a major shift over the last 15 years in the way household waste is being managed and disposed of across the country.
“Waste headed to landfill has fallen significantly by 84% since 2011, representing a significant achievement and demonstrating what can be achieved when households, local authorities, government and businesses work towards a shared goal.
“At the same time, however, the figures highlight an ongoing challenge. While landfill waste continues to fall and the amount of household waste we generate has decreased slightly, recycling rates have broadly stayed the same over the last eight years.
“This poses a serious question as to how Scotland can realise its circular economy ambitions. It’s clear that where waste ends up is important, but we need to focus on preventing waste in the first place and recycling more of that material when it is produced.
“We know there is still considerable untapped potential, outlined by the Zero Waste Scotland research showing much more of our general waste bins could potentially be recycled. That includes many everyday items we all use and consume like food waste, paper, cardboard and plastics.
“If we can place further emphasis on ensuring these items are disposed of correctly, it will help reduce environmental impacts, move closer towards a sustainable future and reap the environmental, economic and societal benefits that come with it.”
The total quantity of all waste types landfilled in Scotland in 2025 was 1.58 million tonnes, a reduction of 230,000 tonnes (12.7%) compared with 2024. This is the lowest record amount of waste landfilled in Scotland.
Much of this reduction was due to decreases in sorting residues, which fell by 216,000 tonnes (38.5%), and construction wastes, which fell by 15,000 tonnes (34.2%).
Waste incinerated in Scotland
Overall, 1.84 million tonnes of waste from all sources was incinerated in Scotland during 2025, a slight decrease of 1.1% from the previous year.
Despite this year-on-year reduction, the quantity of waste incinerated remains substantially higher than in 2011, having increased by 1.44 million tonnes (363%) over the period.
Household and similar wastes remained the largest waste category incinerated in Scotland, accounting for 857,000 tonnes, or 46.5% of all waste incinerated.
A new study by The James Hutton Institute, Scotland’s leading interdisciplinary research institute for sustainable land, crop and nature management, and DePaul University in Chicago has confirmed unseen benefits to furniture reuse, which go beyond helping the environment.
The study was based on research by Dr Alice Hague, a Hutton social scientist, and colleagues in Scotland, investigating how to increase the re-use of resources in people’s everyday lives, as part of a transition towards creating a more ‘circular’ economy.
Dr Hague’s team found that, as well as diverting large amounts of bulky waste from landfill, second-hand furniture shops in Scotland create jobs and work experience opportunities, often engaging those who struggle with conventional employment.
The organisations behind these furniture reuse shops additionally provide training in logistics, furniture removal, accountancy and business management, equipping employees with valuable career skills. Meanwhile, income from the sale of reused furniture also goes towards providing other support services.
One employee at a furniture reuse centre said, “We have an awful lot of people who perhaps would have struggled to get into the workforce, but only because of, maybe, anxiety or confidence. Very able people, our best members of staff now.”
Alongside the study led by Hutton, Alice discovered through a conversation with her brother Professor Euan Hague, based at DePaul University in Chicago, that he was also leading a study about furniture reuse, but from a different angle.
Working with colleagues based in Chicago, Euan was looking to find out more about the impact of furniture donated for reuse to the Chicago Furniture bank.
His study was pointing to how reusing furniture has impacts on health and wellbeing, providing stability and a sense of home for people transitioning into permanent housing.
In Chicago, Professor Hague’s team heard about a mother who had been able to provide her children with separate beds thanks to furniture donations. She told researchers: “My kids are happy, they have beds, they each are happy they have their own bed. I’m not in the bed with them. They’re just happy.”
Together, the two studies reinforced the significant social benefits of reusing furniture that are often overlooked in discussions about the circular economy, with its focus on reusing resources and reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.
In addition to diverting waste from landfill, interviewees pointed out the impact of reusing furniture include employment and training opportunities, and how families felt more of a sense of home after receiving used sofas, tables and beds.
The study’s findings show that the circular economy – a concept which aims to keep resources, products and materials in use and out of landfill sites for as long as possible – can offer more than just environmental benefits.
Dr Hague said, “I was expecting barriers to furniture reuse to be about policy and lack of funding – I wasn’t expecting to hear about families from Ukraine being helped with furniture in a moment of crisis.
“There’s way more going on here than kilograms or tons of waste being avoided.”
The study, titled ‘The Social Benefits of Furniture Reuse in the Circular Economy’, can be read in full on the Journal of Circular Economy website.
Edinburgh Remakery diverted 47 tons of e-waste from landfill in 2024, rising to 52 tons in 2025.
Refurbished devices are donated to people in digital poverty
Businesses benefit by having a trusted partner to wipe IT equipment and add to ESG credentials
Edinburgh Remakery’s contribution to tackling e-waste and digital exclusion has been recognised with the King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2026.
It is one of just 185 organisations across the UK to be recognised with a King’s Award for Enterprise in 2026.
The prestigious award acknowledges Edinburgh Remakery’s outstanding achievement in sustainability.
The charity specialises in ethical IT asset disposal and the refurbishment of donated devices for people experiencing digital exclusion.
It previously won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2022.
Sustainability at the core
Edinburgh Remakery’s partners, and the public, donate unwanted devices that are professionally wiped, refurbished and then reused.
In 2024, the organisation diverted 47 tonnes of e-waste from landfill, preventing over 1.1 million kilograms of carbon emissions.
In the same year, through its Tech Gifting Programme, Edinburgh Remakery provided 295 refurbished devices to individuals across Scotland facing digital exclusion.
Tackling e-waste one laptop at a time
Elaine Brown, chief executive officer of Edinburgh Remakery, said: “The King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development is wonderful recognition of Edinburgh Remakery’s achievements and bolsters our credentials as a credible, impactful partner for businesses across the UK.
“We are tackling the fastest-growing waste stream in the world.
“Businesses trust us to ‘clean’ and wipe their donated laptops, tablets and other devices to industry standards and help those devices have a second life.
“We collaborate with charities to provide refurbished devices to people experiencing digital exclusion – it could be a desktop computer for a family, a laptop for an individual or a games console for a young carer.
“Since we entered the award, we’ve actually increased our output – in 2025 we diverted 52 tonnes of e-waste from landfill, a 10% increase in one year.
“We divert waste, create green jobs and tackle exclusion – one laptop at a time.”
EGS benefits for business
Elaine emphasised that Edinburgh Remakery has the capacity to deliver benefits for more UK businesses: “If you’re a business, you have tech. We should be the first choice of partner for any organisations that are disposing of electronic items.
“Working with Edinburgh Remakery bolsters organisations’ environmental, social and governance credentials by diverting waste from landfill and creating social good.”
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious business awards. Winners are allowed to display the King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years — a globally recognised mark of excellence.
Applications for the 2027 King’s Awards open today – 6 May 2026.
Recycling takeaway cups in Edinburgh is now easier thanks to a collaborative scheme Keep Scotland Beautiful has launched with the National Cup Recycling Scheme and City of Edinburgh Council.
Dedicated cup bins will be deployed on Market Street, Waverley Bridge and outside Haymarket Station to collect single-use cups in a new trial to test the effectiveness of on-street cup recycling and see if it is possible to boost the number of cups being recycled in Scotland – currently 4% – and prevent them from ending up as litter or in landfill.
Furthermore, the partners have teamed up with retailers including Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero, Greggs and McDonald’s to launch Take It Back in Edinburgh.
This is the first time our Cup Movement campaign has taken place in Edinburgh and will build on the previous success and learnings of trials in Glasgow and Dundee.
More than 30 stores in Edinburgh are participating in Take It Back, allowing customers to take a single-use cup back to any of the above retailers to be recycled.
Heather McLaughlin, Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Campaigns Manager, said: “Single-use cups make up a huge percentage of the items polluting Scotland’s environment.
“The reality is that these single-use products are already ending up as litter. We need to address our over consumption of single-use products and make an effort to choose reusable options.
“However, we know that reuse is not always possible or practical. This scheme will make it easier for people who use single-use cups to ensure they are recycled properly.”
Hannah Osman, National Cup Recycling Manager at Valpak Ltd, said: “Transport hubs are some of the highest footfall locations in Scotland, and we know from our data that a significant volume of single-use cups are consumed on the go.
“By targeting key commuter routes, this trial allows us to test how dedicated infrastructure in the right locations can capture more material and significantly increase recycling rates.
“Through this partnership, we’re using real-time data and evidence from previous trials to understand what works, measure contamination levels, track capture rates, and build a scalable model for on-street cup recycling.
“The goal is simple: make cup recycling visible, convenient and data-driven so it can be rolled out effectively across other cities in Scotland and beyond.”
Cllr Stephen Jenkinson, City of Edinburgh Council’s Environment Convener, said: “Increasing recycling rates in the city is one of our key priorities.
“It’s important we support targeted projects like this to make it easier for people to dispose of takeaway cups, which have become so popular in recent years and the prominent locations of these three new dedicated bins will hopefully do that.
“I’d also always encourage residents and visitors buying a regular cuppa to wherever possible take their own cup into takeaway stores to cut down on the need to use the disposable ones at all.”
Typical single-use hot drink cups cannot go into standard recycling bins or be recycled at home. To avoid cups ending up in landfill, it is really important to #TakeItBack. So, even if you forget your reusable cup, you can still help reduce the negative environmental impact of single-use cups if you #TakeItBack.
Proposals aimed at creating new jobs and driving economic growth by keeping materials and goods in use for as long as possible have been published for consultation.
The draft Circular Economy Strategy sets out plans to increasing reuse, repair and recycling rates, for example by:
increasing the reuse of construction materials
supporting sustainable alternatives to fast-fashion
increasing EV battery re-purposing, recycling and material reprocessing
exploring ways to cut food waste
The draft Strategy will develop sector specific road-maps for four of the five sectors with the greatest potential for increasing reuse, repair and recycling rates in Scotland – the built environment, net zero energy infrastructure, textiles and food. Actions for the fifth sector, transport, will be included in the forthcoming draft Climate Change Plan.
Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Reducing, reusing and recycling materials has a huge role to play in Scotland’s response to tackling the climate crisis.
“It also brings huge benefits to households and communities – from lowering the costs of items and creating new jobs to cutting the amount of litter on our streets, helping to improve our local environment and protect wildlife.
“By supporting Scotland to move towards a culture where keeping materials and goods in use for as long as possible is the norm, we will also be able to drive economic growth by increasing the resilience of our supply-chains and encouraging innovation.
“This consultation outlines priority sectors key to cutting waste and capitalising on the economic opportunities that a circular economy presents to businesses. I urge everyone to take part.”
Scots are generating less waste than ever before and sending less to landfill.
The Scottish Waste From All Sources 2023 Official Statistics, published today (15th July) by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), provide details on waste from Scottish households, businesses and public services.
Scotland generated 9.55 million tonnes of waste in 2023 – a 7.5% decrease from 2022 and down 20.2% since 2011. This overall decline reflects a long-term trend towards better waste prevention and reuse across the country.
The amount of waste sent to landfill fell to 1.81 million tonnes, down 21.1% from 2022 to the lowest figure recorded.
Scotland’s landfill rate now stands at 19%, down from over 50% in 2011, signalling significant progress in diverting waste away from landfill.
At the same time the overall recycling rate has remained roughly the same (62.2% down 0.6 percentage points from 2022).
The largest single waste category in 2023 was soils, at 2.76 million tonnes, followed by household and similar waste at 1.92 million tonnes. Encouragingly, household and similar waste generated by Scottish homes and businesses has fallen by 1.2 million tonnes since 2011.
The statistics also highlight a continued rise in energy-from-waste incineration of Scottish waste, which increased by 20.2% in 2023 to 1.74 million tonnes, the highest level to date. This increase underscores the growing role of energy-from-waste facilities in managing residual waste – material that cannot currently be recycled or reused.
Scottish landfill rate at record low.
The latest data from recently published report 'Scottish Waste From All Sources 2023 Official Statistics', highlights that Scots are generating less waste than ever before and sending less to landfill.
— Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) (@ScottishEPA) July 15, 2025
David Harley, Acting Chief Officer – Regulation Business & Environment, said: “The statistics for 2023 show that the hard work of communities, councils and businesses is paying off. We’re generating less waste and sending less to landfill than ever before. But they also highlight the scale of the climate challenge still facing us.
“While the figures show clear progress, they also highlight that we must focus on preventing waste in the first place and prioritising reuse and recycling over disposal. As long as non-recyclable waste is produced, energy recovery will remain part of Scotland’s waste hierarchy as a better alternative to landfill, but every tonne of waste avoided or recycled is better for the climate, for communities and for Scotland’s journey to net zero.
“This annual data set gives Scotland an important opportunity to reflect. SEPA’s role is to provide the evidence to support informed decisions by policy makers, industry and local authorities.”
Secretary for Climate Action Gillian Martin said: “I welcome these statistics from SEPA which show that the overall amount of waste generated in Scotland continues to fall faster than the previous target set, and is at its lowest ever level.
“This highlights the significant, long-term progress we are making towards a circular economy in which fewer resources are wasted. This is not just good for the environment – it will also create new economic opportunities and green jobs here in Scotland.
“The Circular Economy Act and Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, backed by our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund, seek to cut waste, create consistent and easy to use waste services across Scotland, whilst driving sustainable resource use.”
Scotland’s approach follows the waste hierarchy – prioritising prevention, then reuse, recycling and recovery, with landfill as a last resort. Much of the progress that has made over the past decade has been driven by policy changes, such as recycling services, duty of care requiring waste producers to separate materials for recycling and reduced residual bin collection frequency.
An Edinburgh resident delivered hundreds of handmade stars crafted from empty crisp packets to the Scottish Parliament yesterday [19 June] to demand more action on recycling.
Jenny Kerr, a maths and learning support teacher, made the stars to remind all MSPs that, as the global plastic crisis worsens, Scotland must do more to manage problem plastics like crisp packets. This comes as global negotiations to end plastic pollution as due to be concluded this summer
Jenny has made each of the stars herself. She started making stars out of paper over 40 years ago when a Danish friend taught her how to make the traditional Scandinavian Christmas decoration. Last year, Jenny switched to making the stars out of crisp packets after learning more about plastic waste.
Crisp packets are a type of soft plastic, which is much more difficult and expensive to recycle than other materials. Soft plastics make up over a quarter of post-consumer packaging waste in the UK, but only 7% is recycled.
In August 2025, international negotiations will take place on the final version of a Global Plastics Treaty to end plastic pollution. Plastic contributes to climate breakdown, it harmful to human health and damages wildlife.
Without a treaty, the harms of plastics will escalate, as plastic production is expected to double by 2040.
The UK is part of the high ambition coalition, a group of over 100 countries fighting for a strong treaty. Last year, the First Minister, John Swinney MSP, stated that the Scottish Government fully supported the Global Plastics Treaty.
However, measures required to end Scotland’s dependency on plastics, such as investment in reuse and banning the burning of plastic waste, have not be acted on by the Scottish Government.
Jenny said: “Since embarking on a project to raise money for a local charity by making 1000 stars out of crisp packets this year, I have been almost overwhelmed by donations of empty packets from friends and colleagues, keen to find a use for this waste material.
“People have been shocked to learn that, despite claims by the manufacturers on the packets, crisp packets are not currently recyclable in Scotland.
“We have an addiction to the convenience of these snacks, and the waste must be dealt with. I hope these stars will encourage our MSPs to consider this serious global issue, ahead of international discussions to finalise a Global Plastics Treaty in August, and prioritise taking action in Scotland.”
Kim Pratt, Senior Circular Economy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “Companies are choosing to sell products like crisps in non-recyclable plastic. This cheap packaging boosts corporate profits but it’s terrible for the planet. Very little plastic packaging is ever recycled.
“The best way of dealing with soft plastics is not to make them in the first place. This approach requires meaningful government commitment to a future with less plastic. We urgently need these companies to stop producing so much plastic and find safe and sustainable alternatives where necessary.”
There are no soft plastic recycling facilities in Scotland. In 2023, a soft plastics recycling plant, co-owned by Morrisons and built with £470,000 investment from the Scottish Government, was opened in Fife but was forced to close only a few months later.
This means all the soft plastic rubbish collected in Scotland must be landfilled, burned or exported. Much of it ends up as litter or dumped in the ocean where it breaks down to microplastics.
Scientific studies are increasingly linking microplastics to an array of health impacts including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, auto-immune conditions and neuro-degenerative diseases.
Incorrectly discarded batteries and electrical devices cause more than 1,200 waste fires every year in the UK – with the number of fires growing by more than 70% year on year.
Total annual cost of battery-related waste fires now in excess of £1bn – threatening vital infrastructure and placing additional burden on taxpayers
Every UK household on average incorrectly discards nearly 6kg of electrical items each year and more than 3,000 batteries are chucked out every minute
New independent research recommends that rolling out council kerbside collections for small electrical devices and batteries across the UK could solve the problem and save more than £6billion associated with battery fires over the coming decade
A coalition representing the waste management sector and local authorities have written to Defra minister, Mary Creagh, calling for urgent policy reform to implement universal kerbside collection of batteries and waste electricals, and to ensure producers of these products pay their fair share for this vital new service
Implementing universal kerbside collections for waste batteries and electricals across the UK could save £6bn over the next decade by increasing recycling and avoiding the costs associated with waste fires.
This was the key finding of independent research conducted by expert consultancy Eunomia for the Environmental Services Association (ESA), published today (30th April 2025), which investigated the costs and benefits of various options for collecting small waste electrical devices and batteries at the kerbside.
Only a quarter (100 of 391) of local authorities currently offer kerbside collection for small mixed waste electric and electronic equipment, which includes devices like old mobile phones, electric toothbrushes, vapes, power tools and toys – but these voluntary services only cover around 23% of households in the UK, and collection methods vary significantly between participating councils.
Because of this lack of convenient and consistent recycling options, waste electrical items, which often contain powerful batteries, are commonly (but incorrectly) discarded in the general rubbish or mixed with other recycling – where they can explode or ignite and pose a significant fire risk.
It is estimated that every household, on average, incorrectly discards nearly 6kg of waste electricals each year – or 155,000 tonnes in total.
Furthermore, Material Focus reports that 1.6 billion batteries were thrown away in 2023/24 in the UK, or 3,000 every minute – with just over a billion of these hidden in electrical devices.
This has contributed to what recycling and waste operators are calling an ‘epidemic’ of battery fires. In 2023, more than 1,200 serious battery-related fires in waste facilities or vehicles were reported and the problem is rapidly growing year on year – with a 70% increase in fires between 2022 and 2023 alone.
The total annual cost of the impacts of battery-related waste fires in the UK is now estimated at more than £1billion. These costs have sky-rocketed from previous estimates, owing to increased frequency of incidents and higher associated costs of the impacts (such as repairs, insurance premiums and public service impacts etc).
The risks posed by battery fires include not just the obvious risks to peoples’ safety but also damage and downtime to essential infrastructure; the loss of valuable recyclable materials, and pollution to water-courses and the wider environment.
In its report, Eunomia recommends that the best way to address this growing epidemic of battery fires is to implement universal kerbside collections of batteries and small waste electrical devices as part of normal council recycling collections – making correct recycling more convenient for all householders, not just those living in councils where collections already happen.
The report suggests that the best cost/benefit balance would be achieved by retrofitting existing refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) with external cages, where possible, to safely store batteries and small waste electricals – collecting them on existing recycling rounds. This would be supported by both national and local communications campaigns, which would be enabled and made more cost-effective by a consistent approach across the country.
If such a scheme were rolled out today, Eunomia estimates that the number of waste fires would drop correspondingly (with anticipated increased compliance levels) from over 700 a year to just over 100, and that the capital expenditure needed to implement the new service would equate to around just 70 pence per household.
Responsibility for this service would continue to fall to local authorities, but the relatively modest additional operational expense could be supported by producers of batteries and electrical devices under a reformed Extended Producer Responsibility regime – which UK Government consulted on in early 2024.
Chairman of the Environmental Services Association, and Chief Executive Officer of Biffa, Michael Topham, said: “The UK is facing a growing epidemic of battery-related waste fires which threatens lives, vital infrastructure and the environment.
“Whether discarded on their own or hidden inside electronic devices, batteries wreak havoc when they are thrown in the wrong bin, but this sadly happens all too often because of a lack of convenient recycling options for householders.
“Eunomia’s report provides clear evidence of the huge benefits of implementing a nation-wide kerbside WEEE and battery recycling scheme – not just for preventing fires and protecting infrastructure but also realising a £6billion economic benefit while supporting a more circular economy for batteries and waste electricals.
“We urge government to commit to rolling out mandatory universal kerbside recycling services for waste electricals and batteries, and to ensure all parties pay their fair share towards delivering them.”
Leyla Lugal, Principal Consultant at Eunomia, adds: “Lithium battery fires are hurting people, the economy, and the environment.
“With the number of electrical products on the market set to rise, this problem will get worse without intervention. The only way to implement change effectively and cost-efficiently is through collective action, ensuring strong communications campaigns and widespread national engagement.
“Some local authorities are already undertaking safer battery collections. This research highlights the wide-ranging benefits of such measures, but to drive real progress, we need policy reform as a catalyst for broader industry and consumer change.”
Jon Hastings, Chair of the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO), said:“Fires in waste collection vehicles and treatment facilities pose a risk to staff working in this critical industry, and are causing operational disruption and higher costs for local authorities.
“It is essential that producers are made responsible for the costs of providing more convenient collection services for batteries and small electrical items to help tackle this growing and dangerous issue, and as such NAWDO joins with the ESA in urging the Government to bring forward the proposed reforms to WEEE regulations as a matter of urgency.”
Councillor Richard Wilkins, Lead Member for Transport and Waste at Somerset Council, said: “Collection of batteries from the kerbside is positive for both our residents and the environment.
“Batteries are becoming more prominent in the things we use everyday. Introducing the collection of batteries and small electricals was a simple way to make sure the right thing was done with them.
“We know Somerset residents are keen to recycle, our recycling rates are in the top 10% in England and more than 100 tonnes of small batteries and electricals were collected from the kerbside last year.”
James Kelly, CEO of the British Metals Recycling Association, said: “The increase in the number of fires across the waste industry is deeply concerning. Be they caused by waste electricals and electronic equipment or orphan lithium-ion batteries, urgent action clearly needs to be taken.
“The best way to tackle this is by introducing a kerbside collection scheme, which would make it easier and simpler for the householder to recycle these items.
“However, this would need to be supported by a national communications campaign to educate householders about the dangers of the incorrect disposal of WEEE and orphan batteries.”
Toni McNamara, Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) Executive Director, said:“While there is no consensus on local authority-operated collections from LARAC membership, we strongly support producer-funded battery and small WEEE collection schemes, and any initiatives focused on reducing the risk of battery fires.”
