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SCOTLAND’S recycling rates have fallen as more waste is buried and burnt, statistics have revealed.
Newly published data from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency shows that, while total waste has declined since 2019, only 56 per cent is now recycled, compared with 60 per cent previously — a fall of 1.5 million tonnes.
Agency spokesman Andrew Sullivan pointed to the “tail impact” of the coronavirus pandemic as a factor, along with a 0.4 per cent increase in waste going to landfill since 2019 and a tripling of the amount being incinerated over the last decade.
Kim Pratt of Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “Scotland must transform the way it uses materials and waste less to reduce our impact on the planet.
“It’s vital that more is done to prevent valuable reusable or recyclable materials burning in incinerators or ending up in landfill.”
The Scottish government has been approached for comment.
