Household waste generated and managed 2023
An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland
Publication Date: 29th October 2024, 9:30 AM
This release shows the 2023 calendar year summary of household waste generated in Scotland and managed by or on behalf of Scottish local authorities. Information on the methodology used to prepare this release and a definition of terms is in the methodology and glossary
Key points
Scottish Household waste – 2023 calendar year
The total amount of household waste generated in Scotland in 2023 was 2.30 million tonnes , a decrease of 26,000 tonnes (1.1%) from 2022. This is the lowest amount of household waste generated since the start of the current time series in 2011.
For 2023, the Scottish household waste recycling rate1 was 43.5%, an increase of 0.15 percentage points from the 43.3% (Table S1) rate achieved in 2022. The amount of household waste recycled between 2022 and 2023 decreased by 8,000 tonnes (0.8%) to 1.00 million tonnes.
The amount of Scottish household waste landfilled in 2023 was 409,000 tonnes, a decrease of 177,000 tonnes (30.2%) from 2022. This is the lowest amount of household waste landfilled in the current time series. It continues a long term trend, with a reduction of 1.05 million tonnes (71.9%) since 2011. The landfill rate in 2023 was 17.7% (Table S1) which was 7.4 percentage points lower than for 2022.
For 2023, the total amount of Scottish household waste managed by other diversion from landfill was 894,000 tonnes, an increase of 159,000 tonnes (21.6%) from 2022. Most of the diverted waste in 2023 was managed by incineration (746,000 tonnes, 83.5%), compared to 81.7% in 2022.
The carbon impact of Scottish household waste generated and managed in 2023 was 5.35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e, Table S1), which is the equivalent to 0.98 tCO2e per person (Table S2). This was a decrease of 179,000 tCO2e (3.2%) from 2022, and a reduction of 1.42 million tCO2e (20.9%) from 2011.
Summary tables 2023
Generated and managed
Per person
Trends (2011 - 2023)
Household waste generated
The total amount of household waste generated in Scotland in 2023 was 2.30 million tonnes, a decrease of 26,000 tonnes (1.1%) from 2022. The amount of household waste generated in 2023 is the lowest since the start of the current time series in 2011 (Figure 1).
Figure - Waste generated
Table - Waste generated
Waste collected via kerbside collections
The amount of segregated recyclate collected for recycling via kerbside collections in 2023 was 655,000 tonnes, a decrease of 7,300 tonnes (1.1%) from 2022. This reduction is consistent with the overall 1.1% reduction in waste generated.
The proportion of segregated recyclate collected in kerbside collections in 2023 (66.2% of the total recyclate collected) was slightly lower than for 2022 (66.4%), however it remains consistent with a longer-term increasing trend from 59.3% in 2013 (Figure 2). The 2020 spike in waste collected by kerbside collections is likely due to the unavailability of other methods of collection during the COVID-19 restrictions during this period, such as household waste recycling centres.
Figure - kerbside recyclate
Table - kerbside recyclate
Recyclate collected by rurality
The reduction in kerbside collection between 2022 and 2023 was slightly more for rural authorities2 (a decrease of 3,600 tonnes, 1.3%) compared to urban authorities (a decrease of 3,600 tonnes, 0.9%, Figure 3)
Figure - recyclate by rurality
Table - recyclate by rurality
Household waste recycled
Waste recycled includes waste reused or recycled and composted. A full description of recycling is given in the glossary.
For 2023, the Scottish household waste recycling rate was 43.5% (Figure 4), an increase of 0.15 percentage points from the 43.3% recycling rate achieved in 2022, and an increase of 3.9 percentage points from the 39.6% achieved in 20113.
For 2023, the total amount of Scottish household waste recycled was 1.00 million tonnes , a decrease of 8,000 tonnes (0.8%) from 2022 , and 31,000 tonnes (3.0%) less than the 1.03 million tonnes of waste recycled in 2011 (Table 5).
Figure - recycling rates
Table - recycling rates
Breakdown of household waste recycled
In 2023, of the 1.00 million tonnes of household waste recycled, the majority (639,000 tonnes, 63.8%) was recycled or reused, with household waste composted contributing the remaining 362,000 (36.2%), Figure 5).
Figure - Recycle breakdown
Table - Recycle breakdown
Household waste recycled or reused
The 639,000 tonnes of Scottish household waste recycled or reused in 2023 was a decrease of 16,000 tonnes (2.4%) compared with 2022 (Table 6).
Of the material categories of waste recycled or reused in 2023 (Table 6), Paper and cardboard wastes showed the largest change compared with 2022 (a decrease 9,900 tonnes, 5.4%) followed by Metallic wastes (an increase 8,600 tonnes, 11.5%).
The largest material category of Scottish household waste recycled or reused in 2023 was Paper and cardboard wastes (171,000 tonnes, 26.8% of all waste recycled or reused, (Table 6)).
There is a longer term downward trend of Paper and cardboard wastes recycled or reused, with a reduction of 69,000 tonnes (28.7%) from 2011. The amount of Paper and cardboard wastes recorded as recycled in 2023 was the lowest amount since the start of the current time series in 2011.
Figure - Recycle or reuse
Table - recycle or reuse
The WasteDataFlow reporting categories that contribute to Paper and cardboard wastes recycled or reused, as depicted in Figure 7, indicate that the recycling or reuse of segregated paper waste has been in decline since 20134. Cardboard wastes, and mixed paper and cardboard wastes, however, have remained constant or increased over time. This may be partly due to replacement of segregated paper collections with mixed paper and cardboard collections. The decrease in segregated paper recycled or reused is also likely to be partly due to a move away from print media to electronic media. Cardboard waste recycling or reuse has not decreased in the same scale as segregated paper wastes, which could be a result of increased packaging materials as consumer shopping habits move online.
Figure - Paper and card
Notes: Paper includes the WasteDataFlow category of Books. Data series starts with 2013, which is the year data started to be collected in WasteDataFlow question 100.
Table - Paper and card
Household waste composted
Waste composted is waste recycled by biological treatment, through composting at a composting plant or through digestion at an anaerobic digestion facility.
For 2023, the amount of Scottish household waste composted was 362,000 tonnes, an increase of 7,600 tonnes (2.1%) from 2022 , and an increase of 30,000 tonnes (9.1%) from 20113.
In 2023, approximately three-quarters of the household waste composted was Vegetal wastes (75.4%) with Animal and mixed food waste making up the remainder (24.6%, Figure 8). These proportions were similar in 2022. In 2011, however, the percentage of Vegetal waste was higher (94.6%) and the percentage of Animal and mixed food waste lower ( 5.3% ). The increase in the proportion of animal and mixed food waste over time corresponds to the roll out of segregated food waste collections by urban local authorities5.
In 2023, the total tonnage of Vegetal wastes composted was 273,000 tonnes, an increase of 7,800 tonnes (2.9%) from 2022, however a decrease of 41,000 (13.0%) from 2011. Therefore, much of the overall increase in waste composted between 2011 and 2023 was due to the composting of Animal and mixed food waste, which increased by 72,000 tonnes (411%) over this period.
Figure - Composted
Table - Composted
Other diversion of household waste from Landfill
Other diversion from landfill is waste material not recycled or landfilled. This includes net waste incinerated, incinerator outputs recycled, and organic material recycled that does not meet quality standards. A full description is found in the glossary.
For 2023, the total amount of Scottish household waste managed by other diversion from landfill6 was 894,000 tonnes , an increase of 159,000 tonnes (21.6%) from 2022 and an increase of 773,000 tonnes (641%) from 2011 (Figure 9).
Other diversion treatment breakdown
In 2023, most of the waste diverted was managed by incineration (746,000 tonnes, 83.5%, Figure 9). Other treatments (Figure 9) were primarily incinerator bottom ash (94,000 tonnes, data not shown) from incineration of household waste sent for recycling, used for example, in road construction.
Figure - Other diversion
Table - Other diversion
Diversion from landfill through incineration
The 746,000 tonnes of Scottish household waste diverted from landfill through incineration in 2023 was 146,000 tonnes (24.2%) greater than in 2022, and 676,000 tonnes (964%) greater than in 2011.
The increase between 2022 and 2023 was mainly due to increases in Mixed and undifferentiated materials (90,000 tonnes, 84.8%) and Household and similar wastes (63,000 tonnes, 13.6%). Household and similar wastes comprise primarily general refuse, and Mixed and undifferentiated materials comprise primarily rejects from sorting of general refuse and sorting of mixed wastes collected for recycling. In previous years the main management route for such wastes would be landfilling7.
Figure - Diverted materials
Table - Diverted materials
Household waste landfilled
The amount of Scottish household waste landfilled in 2023 was 409,000 tonnes, a decrease of 177,000 tonnes (30.2%) from 2022, and a reduction of 1.05 million tonnes (71.9%) from 2011. The amount of waste landfilled in 2023 is the lowest in the current time series.
For 2023, the Scottish household waste landfill rate was 17.7% (Table S1). This is 7.4 percentage points lower than the landfill rate in 2022 (25.1%) and a decrease of 38.0 percentage points from 2011 (55.8%) (data not shown).
In 2023, most of the Scottish household waste landfilled comprised Household and similar wastes (291,000 tonnes, 71.3%, Figure 11). The next largest category was Combustion wastes which comprised 103,000 tonnes (25.3% of the total). Between 2022 and 2023 a reduction in landfilling of 197,000 tonnes of Household and similar wastes was partially offset by an increase in a 26,000 tonne increase in landfilling of Combustion wastes.
Figure - Landfill
Table - Landfill
Carbon impacts of Scottish household waste
The carbon impact8 is a measure of the whole-life carbon impacts of waste, from resource extraction and manufacturing emissions, right through to waste management emissions. Further information is available in the glossary.
Most carbon impacts are associated with the waste generated (Figure 12) which encapsulates the whole-life carbon impacts of the material. Negative values for Recycling and Other Diversion indicate that these waste management methods lead to carbon reductions (e.g. from reducing raw material demand) that outweigh the carbon emissions of managing the waste.
The carbon impact of Scottish household waste generated and managed in 2023 was 5.35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e, Table 12), which is the equivalent to 0.98 per person (Table 2). This was a decrease of 179,000 tCO2e (3.2%) from 2022.
The amount of waste generated by Scottish households in 2023 was 11.6% below 2011 levels (see waste generated section). In contrast, the carbon impact of Scottish household waste generated and managed in 2023 was 20.9% (1.42 million tCO2e) below the 2011 level.
The carbon impact of a tonne of Scottish household waste (tCO2e/tonnes of waste generated) has declined by 10.6% between 2011 and 2023 (data not shown). This is largely a result of increased recycling rates, particularly for high impact waste materials such as non ferrous metallic wastes and glass wastes, as well as a reduction in waste generated and reduced landfilling of biodegradable waste.
Figure - Carbon impact
Table - Carbon impact
About household waste statistics
An Official Statistics publication for Scotland
This is an Official Statistics publication. These statistics have been produced to the high professional standards defined in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, which sets out fourteen principles under the pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value. More information on the Official Statistics Code of Practice web site.
Lead statistician – Peter Ferrett, SEPA
User statement
Data on Scottish household waste generation and management are collected to support policy development and monitor policy effectiveness, particularly the commitments in Making Things Last - A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, and Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030. The data contribute to the UK Statistics on waste and are also used extensively by local and central government, the waste industry, researchers and the general public.
Revisions
SEPA will provide information about any revisions made to published information in this statistics release and the associated datasets. Revisions could occur for various reasons, including when data from third parties are unavailable or provisional at the time of publishing or if there are subsequent methodological improvements or refinements. The figures are accurate at the time of publication. However, the data may be updated if further revisions are necessary. Normally these revisions will be published concurrent with the next official release.
Revisions to 2022 local authority data since the last household statistical publication, published in October 2022, are shown below (Table 13). The revisions are due to updates of 2022 WDF returns for two authorities.
Data for 2013 - 2022 in Figure 7 has been amended from the equivalent table in the 2022 household statistics. The previous data included commercial paper and card collected by authorities.
note: Cells shaded in grey represent revisions amounting to a change of greater than 50 tonnes, greater than 100 tCO2e, or greater than 0.1 percentage point
Methodology
Data were submitted by all 32 Scottish local authorities using the web-based reporting tool WasteDataFlow.
From 2014, composted wastes that did not reach the quality standards set by PAS 100/110 were accounted for as other wastes diverted from landfill and not as wastes composted, except where waste was processed at a new composting or anaerobic digestion site and the site indicated they had applied for and were working toward PAS compliance, in which case a 12-month grace period was applied for the purpose of including wastes composted in household recycling data. In 2023 there were no new sites that met this criterion.
As we move further away in time from the old composting measure used between 2011-2013, it becomes less important and a back series is helpful for understanding changes over a long period of time. For 2011 – 2013 the waste that met the PAS 100/110 standard was modelled to produce a back series, replacing the data reported under the previous composting measure. For each authority, the proportion of waste that was sent to a PAS 100/110 facility on average in 2014-2015 was applied to the waste sent for composting for each of the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. For example, if an authority sent 60% of its waste to a PAS 100/110 facility in 2014-15, then for the back series years of 2011, 2012 and 2013, 60% of waste sent for composting were counted as recycled. The non PAS 100/110 tonnes were allocated to the “Other Diversion” category.
Quality report
Further information on the methodology can be found in the accompanying household quality report.
National Method vs UK method
Recycling figures are calculated according to Scotland’s national recycling rate methodology. The methodology differs to the Waste from households measure published by Defra in its UK Statistics on waste publication. The differences are summarised in Table 14 below.
Further information about differences between the national recycling measures of the four UK countries may be found in the Recycling Explainer published by Defra.
Enquiries
Enquiries on this publication to: SEPA Communications Department: media@sepa.org.uk
For further contact details please see contact.
Pre-release access
Published 29 October 2024
Besides analytical staff involved in the production and quality assurance of this publication, the following post holders in SEPA and the Scottish Government were given pre-release access up to 5 days before release:
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
Minister for Climate Action
Scottish Government Special Adviser x 1
Scottish Government Analyst x 4
Scottish Government Policy Official x 17
Scottish Government Communications Official x 2
Zero Waste Scotland Analyst x 1
Zero Waste Communications Official x 9
SEPA Policy Adviser x 3
SEPA Communications Official x 5
SEPA Administrative Support x 1
Glossary of terms
BSI PAS 100 / 110 a national compost/digestate benchmark that specifies the minimum requirements for the process of composting/anaerobic digestion, the selection of material from which compost/digestate is made, and standards for the compost/digestate product quality. PAS 100 is applicable to composting facilities while PAS 110 is applicable to anaerobic digestion facilities. The use of this standard to improve the quality of compost/digestate in Scotland became Scottish Government policy in 2011, with 2014 being the first year it was applied to the household official statistics.
Carbon Impact a measure of the whole-life carbon impacts of waste, from resource extraction and manufacturing emissions, right through to waste management emissions, regardless of where in the world these impacts occur. The carbon impact of waste measure was developed by Zero Waste Scotland.
Compost like output (CLO) partially digested waste outputs generated from the biological treatment of residual municipal solid wastes at a process that involves both mechanical and biological treatment. Outputs typically do not conform to composting standards such as PAS 100/110.
Household waste waste generated by households (see full definition in Paragraph 1.2 of the Zero Waste Plan - guidance for local authorities).
Kerbside Collection A service provided by local authorities to households, of collecting and disposing of household waste and recyclables, which are presented to the authority on the kerb. It includes individual household waste containers, as well as communal bin stores provided to multiple tenants.
Landfill rate waste landfilled as a percentage of all waste generated. Note that total waste generated does not equal total waste managed due to stockpiled waste, which is counted in the generation figures and will be included in the managed figures in the year it is sent to final management.
- household waste treated by incineration, including any incinerator bottom ash diverted from landfill
- weight loss that occurs during the composting/digestion of waste to PAS 100/110 and non PAS 100/110 compost/digestate where the output is landfilled
- CLO that is not landfilled
- weight loss that occurs during mechanical and biological treatment processes (e.g. production of CLO and RDF)
- from 2014, any waste composted/digested that has not reached the quality standards set by PAS 100/110 and is not landfilled.
Recycling rate waste recycled as a percentage of all waste generated. Note that total waste generated does not equal total waste managed due to stockpiled waste, which is counted in the generation figures and will be included in the managed figures in the year it is sent to final management.
Refuse derived fuel (RDF) waste separated from residual municipal solid waste with a calorific value suitable for use as a fuel in combustion processes.
Segregated recyclate waste materials collected for recycling separately from residual waste collections. This includes collection of single materials as well as co-mingled materials.
tCO2e tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is a measure that allows the comparison of greenhouse gases relative to one unit of CO2.
Waste composted is waste recycled by biological treatment through composting at a composting plant or through digestion at an anaerobic digestion facility.
Waste generated is waste collected by or on behalf of local authorities that is managed within the relevant reporting year. This might include treated waste stockpiled prior to final management.
Waste landfilled includes all household waste that is disposed of at a landfill site instead of being recycled or diverted from landfill through other methods. It also includes incinerator ash that is landfilled, plus any recycling and composting rejects that occur during collection, sorting or further treatment that go to landfill.
Waste managed includes all wastes recycled, diverted from landfill and landfilled within the relevant reporting year. This includes stockpiled waste from a previous year sent to final management but excludes treated waste stockpiled prior to final management.
Waste recycled includes recyclable materials that have been recycled or reused and also biodegradable materials that have been composted or digested. The amount of waste recycled, reused and composted is that accepted by the reprocessor facility. As such it excludes any recycling rejects that occur during collection, sorting or further treatment. It does not include any waste composted that has not reached the quality standards set by PAS 100/110.
Wastedataflow A UK wide system administered by Defra for local authorities to report waste collected and managed within their jurisdiction. Data entry is via a series of numbered questions and finalised data are available to the public following publication. Further information may be found on the Wastedataflow web site.