Scotland is taking a new focus in its recycling campaign to encourage cities to look at what matters most; reducing carbon. Moving away from traditional practices of measuring recycling in terms of tonnage, they will measure their recycling performance with a new carbon metric which aims to have zero waste from 2013 onwards. There will be a larger demand for a ‘closed loop’ system by recycling glass back into glass, for example, and highlight different waste management options. The vision is to prioritize the materials to reach the goal of 70% recycled by 2025. The Environment Minister of Scotland, Richard Lochhead reported that he is “delighted to announce today another huge and world-leading step the Scottish Government is taking to monitor Scotland’s recycling successes. The new way of measuring performance will focus on the carbon savings of each item, rather than its weight. This demonstrates the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan in action and another huge step towards our vision of a zero waste Scotland.”
This is the first attempt in the world to combine thoughts on climate change and waste management to improve the system. To learn more about Zero Waste Scotland’s programs visit their website here.
