To create a greener, cleaner future for Scotland - ending landfill, increasing recycling and creating green jobs and renewable energy for the local
community in the process.
In 2008 Scotland produced 19.5 million tonnes of waste - enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool every ten minutes
Household waste accounted for 2.9 million tonnes, construction industry waste 8.6 million tonnes and 7.9 million tonnes from the rest of the commercial and industrial sector
In West Central Scotland alone 6 million tonnes of waste are sent to landfill each year
This wasted material can be used as a valuable resource
On 9th June 2010 the Scottish Government published its Zero Waste Plan, which pledged to ensure that valuable resources are not disposed of in landfills
The Zero Waste Plan aims to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill to 5% by 2025
In order to meet this target the Scottish Government identifies a need for new waste facilities to recycle, sort, compost and recover the value from waste in terms of energy
Recovering energy from waste could contribute to 31% of Scotland's renewable heat target and 4.3% of the renewable energy target, generating enough heat for 110,000 homes and enough power for 170,000 homes
The bar was set even higher in September this year when Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, announced that the national renewable electricity target for the country would rise from 50% to 80% by 2020
