‘Enormous opportunity’ for single use plastics as Zero Waste Scotland release figures on World Environment Day
Every year over 64,000 tonnes of plastic food packaging and plastic bottles is sent to landfill in Scotland, costing £11 million each year.
Scottish households on average are binning 27kg of food and drink plastic that could be put into relevant recycling bins and worth £5.7 million if recycled, but instead costs Scotland, and the relevant local authorities, an estimated £5.3 million to send to landfill.
Zero Waste Scotland released these figures on World Environment Day, (Tuesday 5th June), a global day focussed on beating plastic pollution.
Scotland has committed to phase out the use of non-recyclable plastics and is currently designing a deposit return scheme for drinks packaging that could see recycling rates of more than 90 per cent.
Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, said: “This year alone the Scottish Government has announced plans to ban plastic-stemmed cotton buds and will shortly be banning rinse-off personal care products containing plastic microbeads as part of Scotland, and the EU’s, vision to reduce single-use plastics and ensure any single-use plastics are easily recyclable by 2030.”
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, added: “There’s an enormous opportunity to turn single-use plastic bottles into a valuable resource if placed in the correct recycling bins. This simple step not only saves the environment, it saves council tax funds and generates money for your local authority area.”