Highland Council cancels new incinerator

Environmental campaigners have praised the decision of Highland Council to abandon its plans for a new incinerator to burn household waste. The council was planning on building an incinerator which could burn up to 65,000 tonnes per year but decided to find alternative arrangements for household waste instead. 

Incineration of waste is expensive, emits harmful pollution, contributes to climate change. The Scottish Government introduced a ban on new incinerators in 2022 but failed to close important loopholes, which means that those that were already in the planning system are still going ahead.

The Highland Council said that their reasons for cancelling its plan to build a new incinerator included public concern around incineration, not wishing to add to the vast amount of plastic being burned and the need to reduce emissions through recycling. 

Recycling figures in Scotland have flatlined for a decade at about 43%, despite a previous commitment from the Scottish Government to reach 60% by 2020. In the Highland Council area, the recycling rate was lower than the national average at 36% in 2023. This was a decrease from the previous year, when the local recycling rate was 37%.

The council will extend its current plans for three years, which includes sending waste to an existing incinerator in Dunbar.

Kim Pratt, Circular Economy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said:   

“The Highland Council has made a positive decision for local people and for the environment. A new incinerator would have locked them into decades of burning waste, which is a disaster for the planet and a risk to the health of people who live nearby. It can now use the next three years of its waste contract to come up with a plan which is focused on improving access to reuse and recycling for its residents.

“Well done to all of the local people who campaigned for this outcome. I hope we see other councils in Scotland which are considering a new incinerator follow the lead of the Highland Council and say no to these polluting plants.” 

Local campaigner Anne Thomas said: 

“We’ve been campaigning against an incinerator at the Longman for many years. We need to reduce waste and reuse and recycle it, not burn it. We will then need less incinerators. 

“They’re also not an efficient way of generating electricity, producing more carbon emissions than coal. We’re very glad Highland Council has decided against this huge waste of money and resources. They now need to move to a properly circular economy, not tie themselves into an expensive contract for someone else to burn the waste.”