New regulations for recycling are coming into force for businesses in Scotland in January 2014, and Zero Waste Scotland recently launched an awareness campaign to help organisations with their transition over the next few months to ensure that they are not in violation of the regulations.
In the new year, all businesses in Scotland will be forced to recycle more of their waste such as metal, plastic, paper, card and glass. Those organisations that do not recycle their waste will face the prospect of fines.
The new regulations will also apply to food businesses, with those that produce over 50 kilograms a week having to get it collected separately.
Scotland currently pays £95 million in landfill taxes to dispose of millions of pounds of waste that could be recycled. The government in Scotland has some ambitious targets and wants to recycle 70% of waste by 2025, hence the new demands on businesses.
The Zero Waste Scotland campaign is trying to raise awareness by promoting the financial benefits of recycling for businesses, as well as helping firms think more carefully about their recycling efforts and how they go about recycling their waste. It is doing this through highlighting real examples and success stories where innovative techniques have been used. The campaign will run until the end of October.
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