Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) has today (2 September) begun a nationwide campaign to raise businesses’ awareness of new Waste (Scotland) Regulations.

The new regulations, which come into force on 1 January 2014, will require all Scottish businesses and organisations to separate their plastic, metal, glass, paper and card for collection or risk a fine. Most food businesses will also have to recycle their food waste.

The information campaign – ‘The law on waste is changing for business’ – runs throughout September and October, and includes a publicly available flyer outlining the new regulations and consequent actions needed to ‘help businesses, local authorities and communities adapt to the necessary changes’.

Regulation details

The Scottish Parliament passed the new waste regulations on 9 May 2012, in line with government’s ‘ambitious’ long-term targets of recycling 70 per cent of all waste by 2025.

According to ZWS, the regulations represent the ‘most significant’ development in recycling for Scotland, and are designed to help realise the ‘true value’ of resources currently thrown away.

New estimates from ZWS indicate that Scotland is currently paying £95 million in landfill taxes to throw away ‘key recyclates’ (paper, glass, metal, plastic, card and food) valued at £97 million.

The regulations rule that businesses that produce more than 50 kilogrammes (kg) of food waste per week will need to separate this for collection, and this will be extended to those that produce over 5kg by 2016, with the exception of food businesses located in rural areas.

Householders will also see changes, as councils will increase kerbside services to include separate collections for paper and card, plastic, metal, glass and, with the exception of rural areas, food too.

To support the changes required by the regulations, ZWS will be investing £8 million in councils and commercial waste management firms this year, including £5 million to support the roll-out of new food waste collections and £750,000 to help increase the availability of collection services to small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

ZWS hopes that the regulations will help to boost Scotland’s economy and create more green jobs.

Progress so far is ‘encouraging’

Commenting on the campaign, Director of Zero Waste Scotland, Ian Gulland said: “It’s great to see that businesses are already working to become ready for introduction of the regulations. The regulations are designed to enable organisations to further reduce waste, enable the recycling of quality materials, and be more resource efficient – all offering the potential for cost savings and wider economic opportunities. We have a range of support available to help over the coming months and would ask those needing help to get in touch.”

All organisations can get free support through the government funded Resource Efficient Scotland programme, which is being delivered by ZWS.

The Scottsh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is working in partnership with ZWS to raise awareness of the new regulations. SEPA’s National Waste Manager, Adrian Bond said: “The new regulations are a key part of Scotland’s ambitious journey to zero waste and, as the principal regulator for waste and the requirement to recycle, SEPA will have a key role in ensuring businesses become compliant in time for January 2014.

“Over the last year, the progress made by businesses to engage in recycling has been encouraging and we are confident that the support available from ourselves, Resource Efficient Scotland and local authorities will help drive home the importance of preparing for the coming changes.”

Read more about the Waste (Scotland) Regulations.