Generation and Management of Household Waste
Household waste presented by waste category and method of management
Data
Generation and Management of Household Waste
Description
Waste from Scottish households generated and managed. The dataset is categorised by calendar year, waste category, and method of management. Management categories are: Recycled (includes waste reused and recycling of dry mixed recyclable waste, and organic waste composted or digested), Landfilled, and Other diversion from landfill (including incineration, recycling of incineration outputs, organic waste composted or digested at sites not accredited to the industry standard).
More information on waste data is also available on the SEPA website.
Metadata
| Theme | Environment |
|---|---|
| Organisation | SEPA |
| License | UK Open Government Licence (OGL) |
| Published | |
| Last updated | |
| Next update | 1 Oct 2023 |
| Update frequency | annual |
| Reference period | 2011 to 2021 |
| Geographic coverage | Council Areas |
| Contact | waste.data@sepa.org.uk |
Data quality
Completeness
The household dataset can be viewed in a commentary report on SEPA's website. There is also an interactive tool to view and download parts of the dataset on Scotland's Environment Web. The data submitted by local authorities is also accessible to the public on the WasteDataFlow website.
Uniqueness
Not assessed
Consistency
This dataset is presented rounded to the nearest tonne. For this reason, totals may not exactly equal the sum of their parts.
Data is checked against other SEPA regulatory returns, and any inconsistencies resolved during the verification stage. There are however some inconsistencies with other published datasets such as the Waste from all Sources statistics. These are due to the different source data collected for different purposes used to compile the different datasets. Inconsistencies include, for example, Paper and card recycled for households is only slightly less than the Paper and card recycled for waste from all sources - the waste from all sources would be expected to be considerably higher due to inputs of commercial waste. More information is available in the SEPA quality report.
Timeliness
The dataset is published approx. 6 months from the date local authorities are required to submit their data in WasteDataFlow. During this time the data is checked, resulting in one or more resubmissions. The dataset is typically published within one month of the completion of the verification.
Validity
The household dataset is used to measure progress against Scottish Government recycling targets. It is also of general public interest, with interest from media usually expressed on the annual publication.
Accuracy
In the most recent reporting year there was a 100% return rate. SEPA undertakes a series of verification checks on the data prior to finalising the dataset for publication .More information is available in the SEPA quality report.
Quality management
Data is sourced from Scottish local authority returns as reported using the WasteDataFlow system. SEPA undertakes a series of verification checks on the data prior to finalising the dataset for publication. Further detail can be viewed in a quality report on SEPA's website.
Additional details
Revisions
Revisions are undertaken in accordance with SEPA's revisions policy. Normally revisions are issued during the following reporting cycle. Where revisions are required outwith the reporting cycle, the policy states that users will be consulted.
Confidentiality policy
This is aggregated data and is not considered confidential in nature.