Highland school waste costs increase

Released 16/08/2010

Amount of waste increases, despite secondary schools cutting down on rubbish

The cost of dealing with waste generated by schools in the Highlands has increased, according to council figures.

There has been a 17 per cent rise in the amount of rubbish from primary schools over 2009-10 compared to the previous 12 months also affected the authority's CO2 targets.

The cost of refuse collections from all schools has gone up steadily since 2007-08's figure of £446,572. In 2009-10, the cost had climbed to £638,462.

Secondary schools reduced waste by 4.13 per cent in the last year, but the rise at primaries had contributed to a 3.71 per cent increase in carbon emissions generated by council buildings.

An officers' report to Highland Council's resources committee said a 10 per cent rise in the landfill tax was one of the factors behind the rising expenditure. Officers said primary schools had asked for help in tackling the issue.

Last September, the council said moving refuse from Skye to a landfill site near Falkirk resulted in one of the costliest disposals in Scotland.

Source: BBC

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