Energy from Waste
Zero Waste Plan consultation
A consultation is now available on the '25% Energy from Waste Cap for Municipal Waste: Guidance'. The closing date for the consulation is November 13, 2009.
Position on Energy from Waste
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, stated the Scottish Government's position on Energy from Waste to Parliament in January 2008:
"We support technologies such as Anaerobic Digestion, which can treat food waste and produce a biogas. There are already some exciting initiatives proposed on energy from bio-gas and this Government fully supports this innovative and effective technology.
"We are determined that our approach to waste is also mindful of the wider climate change challenge and energy policies. That is why this Government is opposed to large, inefficient energy from waste plants. Such plants could easily become white elephants and drain public funds. They will require excessive transportation of waste and could also crowd out recycling and waste prevention.
"However, energy from waste is used by many countries to move away from landfill. It forms part of their work to obtain value from a resource, rather than just putting waste into landfill.
"The Sustainable Development Commission said in its report last month that 'energy from waste may be, in the right circumstances, compatible with sustainable development and a move towards a Zero Waste society'.
"Of the options considered by SEPA, 70 per cent recycling with 25 per cent energy from waste performed the best in relation to climate change and non-renewable resource depletion.
"At the Waste Summit, we had a vigorous debate on this issue. A very significant majority thought that energy from waste should have a limited role. And energy from waste is preferable to landfill. Used efficiently, energy from waste can make a contribution to meeting our energy needs, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and heat can be recovered as well.
"When considering waste policy, we have taken account of key areas such as the proximity principle, energy policy and climate change. For example, our Wood Fuel Task Force, which has just reported, shows that waste wood can make a useful contribution to energy from biowaste.
"We are proposing that by 2025 no more than a quarter of municipal waste, which amounts to less than four per cent of all Scotland's waste, should be treated by energy from waste. This cap of one quarter will include Anaerobic Digestion if it should be used to treat mixed waste."