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Waste experts have warned that landfill space in Scotland is rapidly running out
By
Scotland environment, energy and rural affairs correspondent
Scotland's recycling rate has fallen to its lowest level in five years, according to figures from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).
The Scottish government's environmental regulator says households recycled 42.8% of waste in 2025 - down from 44.3% the previous year.
According to a roadmap set by the Scottish government in 2010, recycling rates should have hit 70% last year but are falling well short.
The share of waste processed at an incinerator remained broadly the same at 82% but the amount being diverted to landfill fell by 10%.
The Sepa figures show that recycling rates vary massively by local authority. South Ayrshire's residents recycled 55% of their waste, compared with 26% in Glasgow.
The islands have the lowest rates, with Orkney recording a figure of just 18.2%.
A total of 2.31 million tonnes of waste was created by households in 2025, which represents a fall of just 1,500 tonnes.
Recycling rates have remained similar - at about 45% - for more than a decade.
The biggest change has been seen in the way black bag waste is treated.
A rapid growth in the construction of energy-from-waste plants, which generate electricity by burning rubbish, has seen a shift away from landfill.
But this has not happened quickly enough to meet a landfill ban which was due to come in at the start of the year. It has now been effectively delayed to 2028.
Figure caption,What's happening to our rubbish?
The figures do not reflect a disruption to Scotland's waste management by the long-term repairs being carried out to the incinerator at Polmadie in Glasgow.
The Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre in Glasgow was shut down in April this year, with much of the waste being diverted to other incinerators or landfill.
The centre is operated, along with a facility at Dunbar, by Viridor.
Karen MacCormick from the company says waste incineration is a greener option than landfill because it can also generate electricity.
She added: "When it's in landfill you've got the landfill gasses, you've got methane, etc.
"This is a more sustainable way of dealing with the waste, coming through an energy recovery facility, and obviously we can create something at the end of it which is low carbon energy going straight to the grid."
A deposit return scheme for bottles and cans, which has seen recycling rates increase significantly in other countries, has been repeatedly delayed.
Experts have also suggested that the lack of consistency in what is collected by local authorities across the country makes it confusing for households.
While some councils take glass at the kerbside, for example, others are forced to drop them off at bottle banks.
Research from Zero Waste Scotland also suggests that more than half of the waste placed in black bins could be recycled.
Sepa's chief scientific officer, Dr Richard Allan, says the figures highlight an "ongoing challenge" with how waste is managed.
He added: "It's clear that where waste ends up is important, but we need to focus on preventing waste in the first place and recycling more of that material when it is produced."
Image caption,Karen MacCormack says waste incineration is a greener option than landfill
Kim Pratt, senior circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said there had been a "shocking decline" in recycling rates.
She said this showed that Scotland had "lost its way", with households missing the 2025 target of 70% recycling "by a mile".
"Recycling levels have stalled in Scotland since the Scottish government encouraged a new generation of waste incinerators to be built, meaning that household waste which could have been recycled is being burned instead," she said.
"The Scottish government is expected to consult on new circular economy targets this year.
"If these are to be meaningful, it must learn the lessons from the past – setting targets is the easy part, meeting them requires real commitment and planning that puts people and nature first."
Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin said the amount of household waste generated in Scotland had dropped by 11% since 2011, and the amount sent to landfill had fallen by 10% in 2025.
"However, the decrease in household recycling rates in 2025 is clearly disappointing and underlines why the Scottish government is taking significant action," she said.
"The Circular Economy and Waste Route Map sets out how we are improving recycling and diverting recyclable material away from general household waste through the deposit return scheme, extended producer responsibility for packaging and a new household recycling code of practice."
Martin said the government had also invested more than £66m to increase recycling collections and the capacity to recycle "problematic materials" like plastic films.