# Scotland’s recycling rates fall to lowest level in five years

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/scotlands-recycling-rates-fall-to-lowest-level-in-five-years/
- Published: 2026-10-27T11:33:23+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T06:40:56+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Science (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62ke84qwl1vo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Americas, Business, Environment, Markets, Science, UK, World

## Key points

- Scotland’s recycling rate fell to 42.8%, its lowest in five years.
- The 2025 target was 70%, but recycling has stalled around 45%.
- Local rates ranged from 55% in South Ayrshire to 18.2% in Orkney.

## Summary

Scotland’s household recycling rate fell to 42.8% in 2025, its lowest level in five years, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The figure is well below the Scottish government’s target of 70% for 2025, renewing concerns about how the country manages waste as landfill space runs short.

Households produced 2.31 million tonnes of waste, only 1,500 tonnes less than the previous year, and recycling has stayed near 45% for more than a decade. Rates varied widely: South Ayrshire recycled 55% of its waste, Glasgow 26% and Orkney 18.2%; meanwhile, landfill use fell by 10% and incineration remained broadly unchanged. Experts point to inconsistent council collections and delays to a deposit return scheme, while more than half of black-bin waste may be recyclable; a landfill ban due at the start of 2025 has effectively been delayed until 2028.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.