Scots are generating less waste than ever before and sending less to landfill, according to the Scottish Waste From All Sources 2023 Official Statistics, published on 15 July, by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
The release provides details on waste from Scottish households, businesses and public services.
Scotland generated 9.55 million tonnes of waste in 2023 – a 7.5% decrease from 2022 and down 20.2% since 2011. The decline reflects a long-term trend towards better waste prevention and reuse across the country, said SEPA.
The amount of waste sent to landfill fell to 1.81 million tonnes, down 21.1% from 2022 to the lowest figure recorded.
Scotland’s landfill rate now stands at 19%, down from over 50% in 2011.
At the same time the overall recycling rate has remained roughly the same (62.2% down 0.6 percentage points from 2022).
The largest single waste category in 2023 was soils, at 2.76 million tonnes, followed by household and similar waste at 1.92 million tonnes. Encouragingly, household and similar waste generated by Scottish homes and businesses has fallen by 1.2 million tonnes since 2011.
The statistics also highlight a continued rise in energy-from-waste incineration of Scottish waste, which increased by 20.2% in 2023 to 1.74 million tonnes, the highest level to date. This increase underscores the growing role of energy-from-waste facilities in managing residual waste – material that cannot currently be recycled or reused.
David Harley, Acting Chief Officer – Regulation Business & Environment, said:
“The statistics for 2023 show that the hard work of communities, councils and businesses is paying off. We’re generating less waste and sending less to landfill than ever before. But they also highlight the scale of the climate challenge still facing us.
“While the figures show clear progress, they also highlight that we must focus on preventing waste in the first place and prioritising reuse and recycling over disposal. As long as non-recyclable waste is produced, energy recovery will remain part of Scotland’s waste hierarchy as a better alternative to landfill, but every tonne of waste avoided or recycled is better for the climate, for communities and for Scotland’s journey to net zero.
“This annual data set gives Scotland an important opportunity to reflect. SEPA’s role is to provide the evidence to support informed decisions by policy makers, industry and local authorities.”
Secretary for Climate Action Gillian Martin said:
“I welcome these statistics from SEPA which show that the overall amount of waste generated in Scotland continues to fall faster than the previous target set, and is at its lowest ever level.
“This highlights the significant, long-term progress we are making towards a circular economy in which fewer resources are wasted. This is not just good for the environment – it will also create new economic opportunities and green jobs here in Scotland.
“The Circular Economy Act and Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, backed by our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund, seek to cut waste, create consistent and easy to use waste services across Scotland, whilst driving sustainable resource use.”
As the SEPA announcement explained, Scotland’s approach follows the waste hierarchy – prioritising prevention, then reuse, recycling and recovery, with landfill as a last resort. Much of the progress that has made over the past decade has been driven by policy changes, such as recycling services, duty-of-care requiring waste producers to separate materials for recycling and reduced residual bin collection frequency.
