East Lothian recycling rates among the best in Scotland

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) statisticians released figures yesterday (Tuesday) highlighting recycling and waste figures across Scotland.

The figures, which cover 2022, show that Scotland generated the lowest amount of household waste since 2011 and suggest the figures have recovered after 2020 and 2021 – which were impacted by restrictions imposed due to Covid-19.

Last year, across Scotland, the average household waste recycling rate was 43.3 per cent.

In comparison, East Lothian achieved a recycling rate of 53.1 per cent, which was the highest of the four Lothian councils and in the top 10 of all Scottish local authorities.

Green wheelie bins.

This rate however was a slight decrease to the 2021 recycling rate of 53.9 per cent, which has been attributed to lower volumes of soil and rubble presented and reduced garden waste during a dry summer period.

Councillor Norman Hampshire, East Lothian Council leader, thanked county residents for supporting the recycling system.

East Lothian residents currently have six separate bins or containers for every household: a green household waste bin; brown garden waste bin; blue recycling box for paper and cardboard; a black or green box for glass; a white bag for plastic, metal and cartons; and a food waste caddy.

East Lothian Council's recycling rates remain impressive

The Dunbar and East Linton ward member said: “These figures provide a clear indication of continued improvements by local authorities to reduce the amount of material going to landfill which in turn is contributing towards a reduction in the carbon impact of household waste.

“In 2022 the average carbon impact of household waste generated across Scotland amounted to the equivalent of 1.02 tCO2e per person with East Lothian achieving a lower rate of 0.95 tCO2e per person.

“This continues a welcome downward trend attributed mainly as a result of increased recycling rates, particularly for high impact waste materials such as non-ferrous metallic wastes and glass wastes.

“Another important trend identified in these latest statistics is an overall reduction of waste being presented for collection.

“Households appear to be following the advice of ‘reduce and reuse’ in addition to recycling and reducing the overall quantity of waste produced.

“I would like to thank East Lothian residents for their continued use and support of our recycling collections which is helping tackle the climate emergency in such a significant way.”