Another rubbish report for Scottish Borders Council

EWAN LAMB   reports on waste disposal figures heading in the wrong direction

In a year when Scottish landfill tonnages for household rubbish continued on a downward trend the council responsible for waste treatment and disposal in the Scottish Borders landfilled more garbage in 2017 than it did six years earlier.

Meanwhile the quantities of refuse recycled in the Borders during last year at 21,324 tonnes was way below the tonnage achieved in 2011 - 24,897 tonnes. And the local landfill percentage of 57.2% was the third highest in all of Scotland, topped only by Glasgow City and Western Isles. The national average was 45% showing that a robust and efficient waste treatment strategy is urgently needed at SBC if its dismal record is to be improved upon.

Annual statistics from SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) also show the Carbon input tonnage for the Borders bucked the national trend last year.The national Co2 equivalent showed a decrease of 115,938 tonnes (1.9%) from 2016. But the 2017 figure for the Borders at 134,667 tonnes was 2.1% up on 2016.

We examined landfill tonnages for SBC's neighbours, comparing SEPA's 2011 figures with those of last year. Borders was the only council to record an upswing in the amount landfilled household refuse between 2011 and 2017.

The statistics for East Lothian were 27,644 tonnes in 2011 and 23,499 in 2017.while the equivalent numbers for Midlothian were 23,163 and 18,857, and for Dumfries & Galloway 34,886 and 31,725. Only SBC showed an increase from 28,688 to 30,593.

When it came to recycling, East Lothian increased its tonnage from 23,432 in 2011 to 26,885 in 2017. Midlothian's data showed a rise from 20,687 to 22,049 while Dumfries and Galloway recycled 17,441 tonnes in 2011 and 21,245 tonnes last year. By contrast SBC's 2011 tonnage of 24,897 had fallen to 21,324 in the same period.

The Co2 equivalent for the Borders of 134,667 tonnes in 2017 was the highest figure recorded since 2011.

As this publication has pointed out on many occasions the Borders' depressing performance on waste disposal - recycling now stands at 39.8%, far below Scottish averages and Scottish Government targets - can be blamed on the failure of councillors and senior council staff to deliver a conventional treatment facility which would have been capable of diverting 80% of the region's refuse from landfill.

Now, instead of leading the field in Scottish waste treatment, SBC is way down the field after its disastrous liaison with the now insolvent New Earth Solutions Group and its funding "partner" which revelled in the name Premier Group Isle of Man New Earth Recycling & Renewables [Infrastructure] Fund, also bankrupt and owing investors hundreds of millions of pounds.

The council was just one of the "victims" of the Isle of Man-based unregulated fund. It failed to come up with the £23 million needed to construct a waste treatment plant at Galashiels.

Many of the individual investors whose money disappeared into a black hole blame the Manx Financial Services Authority (FSA) for allegedly ignoring their warnings and complaints.

And an event to be held on the island this weekend by the FSA has been met with criticism and derision by Premier Group shareholders.

The Authority is staging a Family Finance Day on Saturday September 29th which will include a presentation by 'Scam Man' on how to be scam aware.

A spokesman for some of the Premier Group's 'victims' commented: "This duplicitous event conveniently ignores the fact that the FSA were well “aware” of the existence of the New Earth Solutions Recycling & Renewables Fund and other Premier Group Isle of Man “scams” (in which family investors lost everything). But despite this “awareness” did absolutely nothing to prevent or stop the “scams”. The FSA is a bogus organisation ostensibly tasked with preventing “scams” but in fact attracting even more “scamsters” to boost the island’s disreputable financial services economy."

Perhaps SBC should send a delegation to the Isle of Man this weekend for advice on how to avoid scammers who use local authorities for their own ends!