Reducing the landfilling of biodegradable and other wastes: call for evidence

Definitions and abbreviations

Biodegradable waste

For the purpose of this Call for Evidence we are considering this to mean any waste that can undergo anaerobic or aerobic degradation. For example, food waste and paper and cardboard and mixed wastes or sorting residues which contain biodegradable materials.

Biodegradable municipal waste to landfill ban

A ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste, set out in The Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003 as amended by The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and The Waste (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, which comes into force on 31 December 2025.

Call for Evidence (CfE)

This document.

Municipal waste

Means mixed waste and separately collected waste from households, including:

• paper and cardboard,
• glass,
• metals,
• plastics,
• bio-waste,
• wood,
• textiles,
• packaging,
• waste electrical and electronic equipment,
• waste batteries and accumulators,
• and bulky waste, including mattresses and furniture,

mixed waste and separately collected waste from other sources, where such waste is similar in nature and composition to waste from households, but does not include:

• waste from production,
• agriculture,
• forestry,
• fishing,
• septic tanks and sewage network and treatment, including sewage sludge,
• end-of-life vehicles
• waste generated by construction and demolition activities

European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code

Means the six-digit code referable to a type of waste in accordance with the List of Waste and in relation to hazardous waste, includes the asterisk.

“List of Waste” means the list of waste established by Commission Decision 2000/532/EC replacing Decision 94/3/EC establishing a list of wastes pursuant to Article 1(s) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC on waste and Council Decision 94/904/EC establishing a list of hazardous waste pursuant to Article 1(3) of Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste.

Sorting Residues

A catch all term, comprising a range of EWC codes^[1], and generally referring to a waste arising from the treatment or management of other wastes. The vast majority (95%) of sorting residues landfilled in Scotland belong to the EWC 191212 code.