News Roundup
Fire at S Norton’s Glasgow East Facility
Another week, another fire — this time at S Norton’s Glasgow East site. Six appliances attended, and thankfully no one was hurt. Alasdair notes around four refuse vehicles catch fire daily in the UK, often from lithium-ion batteries. Without stronger producer responsibility, these fires will keep happening.
£500m Skelton Grange EfW Facility Opens in Leeds
Enfinium has opened its £500m energy-from-waste plant in Leeds, designed to process 410,000 tonnes a year and generate 49 MW. It highlights the UK’s continued reliance on EfW as landfill space shrinks.
Dutch Waste Tax Hikes Risk ‘Waste Tourism’
The Netherlands plans big waste tax increases to raise €567m, but critics warn it could push waste abroad. Alasdair compares it to Scotland’s higher landfill tax, where price gaps risk shifting waste rather than solving the problem.
John Lewis Highlights £29m EPR Costs
John Lewis has added £29m to cover extended producer responsibility. Jane welcomes overdue accountability, while Alasdair says producers should pay for the waste they create — though retailers may simply pass the cost on.
12 September marked Plastic Overshoot Day — when global plastic generation exceeds capacity to manage it. With 28kg per person worldwide (likely higher in the UK), packaging drives one-third of production.
Toxic Landfill Leachate Mixed with Sewage
A Guardian story raised alarms about landfill leachate mixed into sewage sludge and spread on farmland. Alasdair explains it’s longstanding practice, with fertiliser benefits but real concerns over PFAS and microplastics. The fix lies upstream, not just at the last stage.
Topic: Landfill – The Last Resort?
In our final waste-hierarchy episode, we cover disposal. Both Jane and Alasdair began their careers on landfill sites, so this one’s close to home.
In the late ’80s and ’90s, nearly everything went to landfill. Concerns about leachate and gas migration pushed the UK toward liners, leachate treatment, and gas control. By the ’90s, the UK led in landfill engineering, with gas-to-energy powering homes.
The EU Landfill Directive (1999) forced higher standards and split sites into inert, non-hazardous, or hazardous. Scotland now has no hazardous sites — all waste goes south.
Landfill Tax introduced in 1996 at £7 per tonne, now stands at £103.70 per tonne in both England and Scotland. It successfully drove diversion to recycling and EfW — but also fuelled waste crime, as rogues undercut lawful disposal.
Scotland’s 2026 biodegradable landfill ban will remove household/commercial waste, but industry waste still needs outlets. With falling tonnages, some operators may not invest in new lined cells, risking shortages and long haulage — already an issue in the Highlands.
It’s not all bad: landfill gas-to-energy remains a key renewable, restored sites support wildlife, and there’s interest in landfill mining or storing plastics in mono-cells for future recovery.
Key takeaway: Landfill is still needed, but only as a true last resort. The better we reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover, the less waste ends up buried for future generations.
Rubbish Rant: Coffee Cup Chaos at Edinburgh Airport
Alasdair’s rant this week comes from Edinburgh Airport. He spotted “coffee cup only” bins full of other rubbish — and worse, dual bins (cups vs residual) both leading to a single bag. If it all goes to residual, why separate?
The UK bins 3.2bn cups annually, costing councils £5.1m, while big brands contribute just £45k via the National Cup Recycling Scheme — barely 0.01% of profits. Add public confusion (plastic iced cups ≠ coffee cups), and it looks more like PR than real progress.
Jane shared a brighter note, trying a BorrowMyCup at Glasgow’s Transport Museum. If every UK resident reused just one cup, that’s 69m fewer disposables.
Key takeaway: Misleading bins and token funding won’t cut it. The real fix? Bring your own cup and reuse.
