91 Lorries A Day: Scotland’s Rising Waste Capacity Crisis
Scotland’s waste industry is in the midst of a capacity crisis and the implications are becoming impossible to ignore.
At a recent CIWM Scotland conference, one figure left everyone in the room speechless: 91 articulated lorries will depart Scotland every single day, transporting Scotland’s waste to England. Why? Scotland simply doesn’t possess the Energy-from-Waste (EfW) capacity to manage its residual waste.
This crisis on the horizon is not new, but it is mounting. Unless action is taken quickly, the sector risks service breakdowns, reputational damage, and increased costs for operators and consumers.
A squeezed system
The Resource Management Association Scotland (RMAS) recently issued a warning in a letter to SEPA, outlining a multitude of problems that are disproportionately affecting small and medium-sized waste operators.
These companies are being shut out of EfW disposal routes as operators increasingly prefer longer-term contracts with local councils and large national firms. For smaller businesses, it means uncertain access, gate closure at the last minute, and fiercely restrictive contract terms, which typically penalise flexible service models.
Compounding the issue is an inconsistency in what different EfW plants will accept. Bulky waste is often rejected outright. Loads that are of satisfactory quality at one plant are rejected at another, with no mechanism to requalify or adapt. In short, SMEs are being shut out of the system.
Capacity vs. reality
The RMAS letter also raises questions about a shocking inconsistency in calculating Scotland’s EfW capacity. Permitted capacities are being used to determine closures, but they are inaccurate, as plants generally operate below their caps consistently.
Scheduled maintenance shutdowns alone reduce capacity by an estimated 166,000 tonnes annually, and breakdowns add yet more uncertainty. When plants shut down unexpectedly, smaller operators without much on-site storage may find themselves without a place to go.
This becomes increasingly pressing in light of the Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW) landfill prohibition that will take effect in January 2026. If nothing is done immediately, the SME industry will be forced to export even more waste to England and abroad, exacerbating environmental impacts and skyrocketing costs.
An urgent appeal
RMAS has called upon SEPA to:
- Undertake a critical evaluation of EfW capacity that considers true operational availability – planned and unplanned outages
- Create a national contingency strategy to bridge the gap ahead of the 2026 landfill ban.
These aren’t just sensible suggestions; they’re requirements to safeguard the future of Scotland’s waste sector. If smaller businesses cannot access reasonable and sustainable treatment routes, many will have little choice but to refuse to accept specific waste streams or even shut down.
The current set-up is not sustainable. Sending thousands of tonnes of waste overseas every week is incompatible with environmental and economic goals. Scotland’s waste system needs strength, flexibility, and, above all, fairness. Scotland must act now.