Combined Executive Agenda 120410.pdf - North Ayrshire Council

Table 2.1: Waste Hierarchy
2.3.3 Carbon Metric
The Zero Waste Plan seeks to supplement traditional methods of measuring
waste by tonnage with one that reflects the environmental impact of waste
management through the implementation of a carbon metric. The metric
identifies and prioritises, through the application of weighting, materials for
recycling and re-use therefore allowing stakeholders to target those with a
high carbon impact.
An extract of the ratings applied to the main waste streams is set-out in table
2.2.
However following representations from the waste industry Scottish
Government has indicated that the metric is to be reviewed, particularly
around textiles, as the weightings applied could result in recycling services
that only address the higher weighted materials. Such an approach may result
in the tonnage based targets within European legislation not being achieved.
Table 2.2: Extract of Carbon Metric
Material Type Carbon Metric Weighting
Textiles 100.00
Aluminium Cans and Foil 65.87
Footwear 31.17
Scrap Metal 16.07
Steel Cans 12.25
WEEE (mixed) 9.77
Wood 8.70
Average Plastics 8.57
Paper 5.23
WEEE – Fridges and Freezers 4.66
Mixed Food and Garden Waste (Composting 2.10
Glass 1.58
7
45