Scottish Government report on waste burning dubbed “greenwashing”

Today (Tuesday 11 August), a revised report on incineration capacity in Scotland has been published by public body Zero Waste Scotland. This report is part of the Scottish Government’s response to a 2025 investigation by Scotland’s environmental watchdog, Environmental Standards Scotland, that found the Scottish Government must take remedial action to prevent the risk of incineration overcapacity.  

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

“This report is the last in a long line of Scottish Government failures on incineration: its moratorium on new incinerators has utterly failed; across Scotland, incinerators continue to be built. Later this year,in Glasgow, Scotland’s second biggest incinerator will be switched on, opposite Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. In Irvine, trucks will deliver waste from unknown sources to a new incinerator on the doorsteps of one of Scotland’s most deprived neighbourhoods. 

“This report published today does not address the concerns of the investigation by Environmental Standards Scotland. It only considers incineration capacity over the next nine years, but incinerators being built today could last for 25-30 years. It is no more than Scottish Government greenwashing and a waste of public funds. 

“Across Scotland, more and more rubbish is being burned. This is a dire situation which costs more for councils, causes climate breakdown, toxic pollution and only serves to line the pockets of the big businesses profiting from incineration.  

“The Scottish Government must stop making excuses and close the loopholes in its incinerator moratorium now. Scotland needs better reuse and recycling, not more incinerators.” 

Shlomo Dowen, National Coordinator of the UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN), added: 

“The report is not fit for purpose because it does not reflect the long operational lifetimes of waste incinerators. The report ignores how incinerators demand feedstock – which is mostly material that could and should be recycled or composted – meaning once an incinerator is built they become barriers to the circular economy. The Scottish Government must act now because the achievement of higher levels of recycling relies on less waste going to incineration, and so it is vital that the total level of Scottish incineration capacity falls rather than being allowed to increase.”