Fife and Stirling only places in Scotland to achieve recycling target as Glasgow falls well short

By HELEN BRIDLE
Published on 08/08/2012 14:23

NEW recycling figures released by SEPA show that Glasgow is certainly not living up to its Gaelic name of the Dear Green Place.

Less than a quarter of household waste is recycled, earning Glasgow a place 4th from bottom in comparison with other Scottish regions.

This shows there is a long way to go for the city to meet the EU target of 50 per cent of all waste being recycled by 2020.

Fife and Stirling are the only places in Scotland which achieve this.

Jim Coleman, spokesman for the council’s land and environmental services, said: “Recycling has always been a challenge for Glasgow, largely due to the nature of its housing stock.”

However, other major Scottish cities recycle far more, with Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen all achieving around a 30 per cent rate.

Council chiefs in Glasgow said they expect improvements in the next few years as they introduce new bin collecting measures and a controversial £154m waste management plant.

Despite opposition from the SNP and the Green Party, the city council gave the go-ahead to he Viridor Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre, which will be built in Polmadie, in Glasgow’s south side.

Due to open in 2015, the facility will process 200,000 tonnes of domestic rubbish a year and the council hope it will boost recycling as well as save £254m a year and power the equivalent of 20,000 homes with renewable energy.