Scotland has some of the most ambitious targets for recycling waste in the developed world. At present there are seventeen million tonnes of waste produced in Scotland every year. New measures, set out by the Scottish Government in October 2011, aim to ensure that Scotland changes the way it deals with waste and creates a zero waste economy.

The need for a developed, efficient waste and waste to energy infrastructure has never been greater. The opportunities for waste derived energy are tremendous, and the Scottish Government is keen to ensure that they form a central tenet of the broader energy strategy. Waste management costs are amongst councils biggest areas of spend. Whilst volumes of waste appear to be stabilising, the unit cost of waste collection is increasing.

Energy from waste could contribute up to 31% of Scotland’s renewable heat target and 4.3% of our renewable electricity target under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. The changes will have a big impact on businesses and also apply equally to the public sector which is of course Scotland’s largest employer. Advocates of the plans hope there will be more recycling chances and opportunities to save money by being more efficient and wasting less.

The proposed regulations include a ban on municipal biodegradable waste going to landfill; this will be the first of its kind in the UK. Also, they include a ban on material collected for recycling going to landfill or incineration, as well as new requirements to remove key recyclables from unsorted waste prior to incineration.

Organisations will also be required to present recyclable material for collection. The proposed measures call for paper and card, glass, metals, and plastics to be collected separately from businesses, as well as outlining mandatory food waste collections for those involved in food production, retail or preparation.

This Holyrood magazine event will focus on three key areas for government bodies. Firstly, it will assess the key measures that government must take to meet these new obligations as of themselves. Secondly, it will look at how government can best disseminate and encourage others to meet the new requirements and lastly it will look at how we can as a nation turn waste into energy and ensure that Scotland is a world leader in the field.