Scottish Labour has slammed the SNP-Green government’s environmental record as figures reveal 97,417 tonnes of waste from within the Glasgow City Council area were sent to landfill in 2021. Just 27.3% per cent of household waste in the City was recycled in 2021 – falling short of the Scottish Government’s target of 60 per cent by 2020, and in fact falling short of their 2013 target of 50 per cent. This is the latest in a series of environmental embarrassments for the SNP-Green government, including a stark warning from the Climate Change Committee that their statutory climate targets were at risk of becoming “meaningless” after they missed 7 out of 11 legally binding targets.
Commenting, Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP said: “These dismal figures show that the SNP-Green government isn’t serious about its environmental pledges “They claim to recognise the scale of the climate emergency but missed targets and broken promises pile up around us, a bit like the rubbish piling up on the city’s streets. “In Glasgow and right across Scotland recycling rates are stuck well below targets.
“My constituents are doing their bit with household recycling, but this absent government and a lack of leadership from SNP councillors in Glasgow City Chambers are failing to do theirs, with patchy recycling facilities across the city and no real plan to fix that. “The SNP-Green government’s usual spin won’t cut it - we need action to boost recycling rates in the Glasgow area and build a greener, fairer Scotland.”
ENDS Source: https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/household-waste-data/
Scottish Government Targets and Indicators:
2013: 50% of household waste recycled/composted or prepared for re-use
2020: 60% of household waste recycled/composted or prepared for re-use Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/key-scottish-environment-statistics-2015/pages/9/