Inside Environment: Throwing away our chances of becoming a zero-waste nation?

Published Date: 27 August 2008
By Jenny Haworth

SCOTLAND has ambitious plans to become a "zero-waste" country, where there is literally no such thing as rubbish.
In this future society, everything would have a use, whether it is turned into compost or burned as fuel.However, sources have told The Scotsman that unless the habits of one sector begin to change dramatically, any possibility of reaching this zero-waste goal will be scuppered. The construction industry currently generates the largest amount of waste of any sector in Scotland. According to sources, it produces a massive 48 per cent of all Scotland's rubbish.Environmentalists say a zero-waste society requires a new way of thinking about rubbish, so that waste changes from being something with no use to an untapped resource.In order to stand any chance of success, the zero-waste concept also requires the minimum amount of resources being used in the first place, to cut down on the items thrown away.However, sources claim the construction industry is not fulfilling either of these goals.Much of this is the result of a standard practice of over-ordering, according to industry insiders. A source said it was normal practice within the construction industry to over-order materials by 5 per cent, in case supplies are damaged.He said: "Most of that remains undamaged and still ends up in landfill. It would never be admitted publicly, but it happens all the time."Ordering about 105 per cent is quite normal. If stuff gets damaged, you don't want your guys waiting to build."In addition, about a quarter of the rubbish from building sites is packaging, such as plastic used to wrap up fragile materials. The industry insider believes the amount of packaging could be cut to a certain extent, but he said there was only so far this could go. Much of the packaging is necessary to prevent the building material getting damaged. Reducing it too far could simply add to the amount of waste, by resulting in more damaged goods that end up in landfill."You get to a tipping point where the amount of packaging is so minimised that you get more waste," he said. "So we are never going to get away from all packaging."However, he said there were ways to cut back on the need for packaging, such as by transporting delicate materials by mechanical means rather than by hand.By 2025, the Scottish Government wants only 5 per cent of municipal waste being sent to landfill and 70 per cent of waste being recycled.Waste management alone contributes about 2.5 per cent of Scottish greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the use of raw materials, preventing waste, using recycled goods and getting value from waste have all been shown to cut emissions.