SEPA publishes statistics on Scottish household waste for 2020

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has published statistics providing details of household waste collected across all Scottish local authorities during 2020. The report includes the following key findings.

• The total amount of household waste generated in Scotland was 2.4 million tonnes in 2020, an increase of 0.3% from 2019.  
• In 2020, the Scottish household waste recycling rate was 42%, a decrease from the 44.9% rate achieved in 2019. The total amount of Scottish household waste recycled was 1.02 million tonnes, a decrease of 66,000 tonnes (6.1%) from 2019.  
• The amount of Scottish household waste landfilled in 2020 was 660,000 tonnes, a reduction of 98,000 tonnes (13%) from 2019, and a reduction of 794,000 tonnes (54.6%) since 2011. This is the ninth consecutive decrease in household waste landfilled. 
• For 2020, the total amount of Scottish household waste managed by other diversion from landfill was 748,000 tonnes, an increase of 171,000 tonnes (29.7%) from 2019. 

Source: SEPA, 7 December 2021