Tag: Viridor

Plans for Scotland’s largest incinerator go up in smoke

Environmental campaigners have hailed the news that plans for a major incinerator at Stonehouse in South Lanarkshire have been cancelled after sustained community opposition. 

Viridor, one of the UK’s biggest waste management companies, has cancelled plans to build what would have been Scotland’s largest incinerator. The decision comes as the Scottish Government’s independent review considers the future of incineration.

The Overwood incinerator could have burned 330,000 tonnes of rubbish and would have led to a substantial rise in vehicles on the road in the area and subsequently a rise in air and noise pollution too. 

Kim Pratt, Circular Economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “This is a huge victory for the Stonehouse community and they should be proud of their efforts.

“Viridor have made this decision before the findings of the Scottish Government’s review into incineration are published next month, signalling that even large waste management companies know that time is up for incineration in Scotland.

“This decision shows that the current moratorium on new incineration applications should be extended immediately and that Scotland needs an exit strategy from incineration if it is to meet its climate goals.

“We need to see a greater focus on reducing waste and recycling, and we must stop burning our valuable resources if we are to bring down the consumption levels that are wrecking the planet.”

Dovesdale Action Group have led the local campaign against the project, blocking earlier plans for a similar incinerator nearby and leading the huge community response opposing the Overwood plant.

John Young, from the Dovesdale Action Group said, “The announcement by Viridor to withdraw their proposal for the largest incinerator in Scotland is testament to the strength of the campaign here in South Lanarkshire to protect our communities from the impact it would have had on our rural landscape, public health, the environment and climate change.

“This is the second time we have fought and defeated proposals for such a development. 

“This campaign has raised the issues of incineration to a national level in understanding the threats such proposals have on our climate targets, recycling targets and protecting communities across Scotland. Today ‘nature’ is telling us the time has come to think differently about how we manage our waste and produce goods. 

“Dovesdale Action Group and communities want to see a national policy in Scotland that reflects our aspirations of a cleaner, greener society and we hope that the national review of incineration reflects the need for change and sees Scotland take an international role in leading that change globally.”

Scottish household waste data shows that incineration rates have risen rapidly over the last decade. In 2011, households burnt 70,000 tonne of waste but by 2020 that figure had risen to 606,000 tonnes.

Over the same period the amount of waste recycled has fallen and Scotland now has the worst recycling rates in the UK.

Scotland currently has six working incinerators for household waste and a capacity to burn 1.6 million tonnes of waste per year.

From Inverurie to Irvine, a further six incinerators are due to start operating in the next few years with the capacity to burn a further 1,506,000 tonnes of waste a year. There are at least four other incinerators under consideration.

Edinburgh calls on manufacturers to foot recycling bill

  • 69% believe taxpayers currently fund recycling but 67% believe manufacturers should pay instead
  • 82% of Edinburgh residents confident in how to recycle
  • Standardised packaging and easier recycling system seen as motivators for future change
  • COVID-19 pandemic has had positive impact on recycling attitudes

A new survey by UK recycling company Viridor has found that Edinburgh residents believe the taxpayer should not be footing the bill for recycling and that manufacturers should be responsible for costs.

In a YouGov poll of 1,000 EH postcode residents, Viridor’s annual Recycling Index found 69% believe that they are carrying the cost of recycling in the area, with a majority (67%) saying that manufacturers should really be paying instead.

Despite growing consumer concern about the environment, recycling knowledge and understanding among Edinburgh residents remain high with 82% confident they are disposing of their waste correctly.

Indeed, more than half of those surveyed (54%) believe confidence in recycling has increased thanks to information provided by local councils, government and business, with the same percentage believing their local council does all it can to make recycling simple to follow.

Similar to the 2019 Index however, more standardised packaging and recycling instructions (69%), coupled with an easier recycling system (52%), would be a major motivator to encourage more people to recycle their household waste. 

Reassuringly, the survey found that the increase in use and disposal of single-use products, for example face masks and plastic bottles, during the COVID-19 pandemic has not had a negative impact on attitudes to recycling, with more than half of those surveyed (55%) saying this makes it more important to find recycling solutions for all materials.

The 2020 Recycling Index also found that Edinburghers are ready to lead the charge with three quarters of those polled believing it is up to individuals to ensure their rubbish and waste is recycled.

However, the majority (85%) believe the council has a responsibility here, with three quarters also saying national government still has a key role to play in driving change. In addition, 87% believe non-recyclable waste should be used to create energy.

With an increasing focus on returning products to a circular economy and an increased use of recycled materials, the poll reveals around nine out of ten people would still buy their regular products if the packaging is updated to be more environmentally friendly, both in terms of material (87%) and coloured plastic (86%).

Sixty three per cent said they were more likely to purchase products made from recyclable packaging, however 44% of Edinburgh residents would not be prepared to pay any more money for these.

Labelling also remains a challenge with 39% of those surveyed admitting they still found current labelling on packaging confusing – representing a 6% increase on 2019’s survey. In spite of this however, 83% of Edinburgh residents say they do take notice of recycling information on product packaging.

The lack of uniformity in terms of recycling across different local councils continues to be recognised by consumers with only 29% of those surveyed believing recycling collections are consistent across the UK.

Viridor CEO Phil Piddington (above) said: “Viridor has been listening to consumer attitudes to recycling for five years and applying the lessons we’ve learnt to the way we run our business.

“Like Edinburgh residents, we think producers should bear the cost of recycling as not only is it important to take responsibility for everything we produce, this acts as a powerful motivating factor influencing product design.

“Viridor has always been very clear that the key to empowering the circular economy is ensuring that everything we produce is designed with recycling in mind. That’s why Viridor was a founding member of WRAP’s Plastic Pact, working with cross-sector partners to achieve the pact’s 2025 recyclability goals.”

Steven Don, Head of Local Authority Contracts Scotland, Viridor, said: “Our Recycling Index shows that the people of Edinburgh care about recycling and feel empowered to play their part.

“There is, however, always room for improvement, particularly in adapting recycling processes and ensuring information is as transparent as possible. We are making real progress in Scotland with Viridor currently working in partnership with more than 90% of Scottish councils to streamline services.

“Viridor has ambitious plans for Scotland’s circular economy which we shared earlier this summer. Our vision for a Scottish Circular Economy and Innovation Park will ensure the country is at the forefront of the green recovery.”

Viridor Recycling Index: Edinburghers are keen to be green!

  • 92% of Glaswegians say the UK should deal with its own recycling rather than exporting it – up 12pts from 2018; 88% of those in Edinburgh agree
  • 80% of Glaswegians and 77% of people in Edinburgh are calling for a consistent recycling collection system across the UK – Glasgow is up 8pts from 2018
  • 74% of Glaswegians and 73% surveyed in Edinburgh think not enough is being done about plastic pollution in their local community; higher than the total UK score of 68%
  • 32% of those in Glasgow think that even though people separate their general waste and recyclable waste, it all goes to the same place – 9pt reduction on 2018
  • 63% of people in Edinburgh and 60% of Glaswegians say they are more likely to buy products with recyclable packaging – Glasgow up 11pts from 2018;
  • 82% of people in Edinburgh and 77% of Glaswegians feel there should be mandatory lessons on recycling in schools

Viridor has announced results from its fourth annual Recycling Index survey which tracks public behaviour to recycling, focusing on different regions across the UK.

The UK results find that 85% believe the UK should recycle and reprocess plastic waste at home. This statistic has risen by five points since Viridor’s 2018 index.

Viridor, the biggest UK-owned recycling company, has announced that all of its recyclable plastic waste will be reprocessed in the UK from next year as part of the company’s recycling investment programme, a move welcomed by Scotland’s biggest cities*.

With the successful commissioning of its new £65m plastics reprocessing plant at Avonmouth, near Bristol, in 2020 – the UK’s biggest multi-polymer facility – Viridor will create new raw materials, ready to be reused by packaging manufacturers in flake and pellet form from all its core recyclable materials collected in the UK.

Staying true to its namesake as the ‘dear, green place’, 92% of Glaswegians believe the UK should deal with its own plastic waste rather than exporting it, up 12 points from 2018. Edinburgh, surveyed for the first time this year, saw 88% of respondents agreeing with this statement.

In what could be a direct result of the so-called David Attenborough ‘Blue Planet’ effect, Scots are leading the charge in the war against plastic. Three quarters of Glaswegians (74%) and 73% of people in Edinburgh want more to be done about plastic pollution in their local community; this is higher than the total UK score of 68%.

Commenting on the plastics reprocessing plant in Avonmouth, Viridor Managing Director Phil Piddington said that, crucially, this demonstrated that plastic need not be considered a single use item, with reprocessing allowing it to be put back into the economy in a process which uses 50% less energy than virgin plastic.

Sustainability charity WRAP identifies these core plastics as HDPE (plastic bottles, including milk bottles, shampoo bottles and other household items, such as cleaning products), PET (fizzy drink and water bottles) and PP (pots, tubs and trays).

The UK Plastics Pact, of which Viridor was a founding member, has made the removal of unrecyclable plastics a key focus over the coming year. It says that as far as possible, by the end of this year, Pact members should remove polystyrene and PVC from food packaging and, by the end of 2020, they should be eradicated from non-food products.

Closer to home, Viridor has invested £477m in Scotland in the past five years across its sites including Polmadie, Dunbar and Bargeddie. This includes the recently opened Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre which will divert over 200,000 tonnes of the city’s waste from landfill, generating enough electricity to power almost 26,500  homes.

In line with delivering a zero waste, circular economy, the Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility will convert post-recycling ‘residual waste’ from landfill into enough energy to power over 70,600 homes.

The Index reveals that 80% of those surveyed in Glasgow are calling for a consistent recycling collection system across the UK, up 8 points from 2018. Whilst 63% of those in Edinburgh and one in six (60%) Glaswegians are more likely to buy products with recyclable packaging, an 11 point increase.

There’s a move from those in the east towards favouring a grassroots approach to recycling with 82% of people in Edinburgh calling for mandatory lessons on recycling in schools; this is significantly higher than the total UK score (76%).

The Index finds that trust is growing in Glasgow, with only 32% believing that everything goes to the same place despite separating general waste and recyclable waste. This is a 9 point reduction on 2018 and lower than the UK average of 39%.

However, Glaswegians have indicated they would welcome being given more information on how and what to recycle, with only 39% saying they are provided with enough information at present. This differs from Edinburgh where 44% are confident with the information supplied.

Mr Piddington, who is also Chairman of the trade body the Environmental Services Association, said: “The 2019 Index results show that the people of Glasgow and Edinburgh are engaged and active in the campaign against single-use plastic, helping to safeguard the environment for future generations.

“This is exemplified by the recent official opening of the Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre which will help the city to achieve its circular economy goals.

“Viridor has been using the Recycling Index to track public attitudes to recycling for four years and, as a UK company working with 150 local authority and major corporate clients and 32,000 customers, we understand the appetite for greater resource efficiency and a more circular economy.

“What this really means is that people expect the UK to be responsible for the waste it produces. The public want us to find a way to recycle and reprocess plastic so it is no longer considered single use, that it will go on to live another life and make an ongoing contribution to our economy.

“Viridor, through the Plastics Pact, is working hard with like-minded companies who can help us achieve our goal of making it easy for people to do the right thing when they separate their recycling at home.

“We are accomplishing this through our dedicated division, Viridor Resource Management (VRM). The public should feel confident that when they put the Right Stuff in the Right Bin, we ensure that it can be recycled and reprocessed by investing in UK infrastructure.”

Sarah Heald, Director of Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations at Viridor’s parent company, the FTSE 250 Pennon Group, said the investment commitment would help to address the reprocessing capacity gap which had led to plastic waste being exported.

In addition, policy changes including the 2022 plastic tax, which will require packaging to contain at least 30% recyclable material, were creating the demand for recyclable material in the UK – another factor which had contributed to plastic being exported.

She said it was an exciting time to be in the recycling industry, a time when programmes, such as David Attenborough’s ‘Blue Planet’, had captured the imagination of the public with this greater awareness about recycling being developed in line with changes in government policy.

Sarah added: “The plastics tax and the Resources and Waste Strategy’s focus on issues such as Extended Producer Responsibility, or producer pays, will have a really significant impact because they help to create the right environment for investment in the infrastructure the UK needs and, of course, the demand for recyclable material in the UK.

“It is crucial that UK manufacturers and consumers brands want to use recyclable material in new products, that this is part of their own sustainability targets because that is the circular economy in action and that should be everyone’s ambition.”

  • An online survey of 2,500 UK adults (300 of which lived in Glasgow and 300 in Edinburgh) was conducted by Edelman Intelligence in July 2019.