Rubbish Talk

News Roundup

KKR Set to Sell Viridor for £7bn

Private equity giant KKR is preparing to sell UK recycling firm Viridor, five years after buying it for £4.2bn. With a potential £7bn price tag, it shows how lucrative waste infrastructure has become — even as Viridor’s Kent plastics plant closure highlights ongoing market challenges. Alasdair notes that many UK energy-from-waste sites are up for sale, reflecting both volatility and profitability.

Global Plastics Treaty Talks Collapse

Two weeks of negotiations ended without agreement on reducing plastic production or tackling plastic pollution, as lobbying pressures derailed progress. Jane and Alasdair voice frustration at yet another missed chance to address this global crisis.

Indaver Exits Ness EfW Plant

Indaver has walked away from the troubled Ness Energy-from-Waste facility in NE Scotland, leaving original owner ACW in charge. Though now operational again, the disruption forced councils to arrange costly landfill back-up — a stark reminder of infrastructure fragility.

UK’s First Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Facility

LIBAT has opened the UK’s first lithium-ion battery recycling site, using nitrogen to safely shred batteries and recover cobalt, nickel, manganese, and lithium. While “black mass” is still exported for final processing, this is a key step in tackling a fast-growing waste stream.

Major Fire at Dunfermline Landfill

A blaze at Cireco’s Lochhead landfill destroyed equipment but caused no injuries. It’s the latest in a worrying pattern of fires linked to batteries and vapes. With 3–4 waste vehicle fires a day in the UK, Alasdair calls for stronger measures to keep hazardous items out of bins.

Topic: Recover the Energy of Waste Produced

This week, Alasdair and Jane continue their journey through the waste hierarchy, arriving at recovery — the stage where we extract energy from what’s left after we’ve reduced, reused, and recycled.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a clear win: it turns food and organic waste into methane for energy and digestate for farmland. Yet only 20% of Scots use their food waste bins. Full participation could erase Scotland’s current energy-from-waste (EfW) capacity gap.

EfW, often dubbed incineration, deals with what’s left. Modern facilities meet strict emission standards and can supply electricity, heat, and recover metals from ash. Shetland’s district heating scheme is proof of how well this can work.

But EfW faces issues: high costs, inflexibility, and criticism for destroying resources that future tech might recover. With Scotland’s biodegradable landfill ban (Jan 2026) and up to 700,000 tonnes of waste still needing homes, EfW is vital — but far from perfect. Add the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (2028), which could add £80–£90/tonne, and it’s clear we must focus harder on prevention and proper recycling.

Takeaway: Use your food waste caddy, recycle right, and reduce what you bin. The less we throw away, the less we need to burn.

Rubbish Rant: Coffee Cups & Empty Promises

This week’s rant targets the National Cup Recycling Scheme. Backed by Costa, McDonald’s, Pret, and Greggs, it’s launched a £45,000 fund for cup recycling. Sounds good? Not when the UK bins 3.2 billion cups annually, costing over £5m just to dispose of. Against those figures — and the massive profits of these brands — £45k looks like PR, not progress.

Alasdair’s verdict? Skip the disposables. Bring your own cup. One reusable could stop you adding to the 49 cups per person the UK throws away each year.

Final Thought: Real change isn’t token gestures — it’s cutting waste at the source.

News Roundup

Scotland’s Recycling Reality Check
The Scottish Government’s new report shows that while some materials (like food waste) are recycled locally, much of Scotland’s “recycling” is just bulked and shipped elsewhere. Alasdair stresses the need to distinguish between material prepared for recycling and what’s actually recycled at home — a gap that reveals both challenge and opportunity for Scotland’s circular economy.

Violence Against Waste Workers on the Rise
A SUEZ report reveals violence and abuse towards waste workers is up 42%. Sadly, it’s a common issue. Through SWITCH, Alasdair has helped promote training and awareness, stressing that abuse is never acceptable. Useful resources: SWITCH Aggression Resources.

Kingussie High Leads on Reuse
Good news from Kingussie High School, where pupils will swap single-use lunch packaging for reusables. Packaging made up 9% of their waste — so this step is a big win, and perhaps proof they’ve been listening to our reduction and reuse episodes!

Local Sustainability vs. Big Business
Former guest Bryce Cunningham (Ep. 61) of Mossgiel Dairy has lost his East Ayrshire Council milk contract to multinational Muller. Bryce supplied organic, local milk in bulk, cutting packaging and supporting local jobs. His loss highlights how procurement focused only on cost can ignore environmental and community benefits.

A Dog with a Nose for Litter
Finally, meet “Little Logie,” a black Labrador from Plymouth trained to collect bottles and cans on walks. If a dog can tidy up the coast, surely we can all manage our litter. Follow his cleanup adventures on Instagram!

Topic: Recycle the Waste You Produce
Jane and Alasdair move onto the third stage of the waste hierarchy: recycling. Too often seen as the ultimate solution, recycling only works when done right — and comes after reduce and reuse.

Almost anything can be recycled in theory, but without clean streams and proper systems, much isn’t viable. Coffee cups, films, and food-contaminated packaging are major culprits, while “wish cycling” (wrong items put in the bin in hope) only makes things worse. Around 20% of UK household recycling is spoiled before it even reaches processors.

High-value recycling happens when glass bottles or cardboard become the same products again. But plastics are often “downcycled” into lower-value items due to poor separation. Contamination and weak markets make it harder — virgin materials often undercut recycled ones despite landfill tax at £126/tonne.

Simple habits matter: rinsing containers, separating films, tearing greasy pizza boxes, and using food waste bins (still only 20% used in Scotland). Maggot fears usually come down to poor segregation, not the system.

Stats show Scotland’s recycling rate at 42.1% — behind England (44%), NI (50.2%), and Wales (57%). With strong systems already in place, Scotland should be leading, but better public engagement is essential.

Takeaway: Clean, separated recycling means stronger markets, lower costs, and a system that works for everyone.

Rubbish Rant
Two rants this week.

First, Alasdair’s beach walk revealed litter left after a sunny weekend, while Jane shared “Bin Wars” from her local Facebook group. Complaints about overflowing bins sparked calls for bigger ones, but as Jane said: take responsibility for your own waste.

Later, Alasdair turned political, reacting to a new £52–56k role at Zero Waste Scotland for a Circular Economy Behaviour Change Analyst. Local authority depot managers overseeing 100+ staff earn about the same — yet face daily abuse, safety risks, and huge responsibility. His point? It’s not that analyst roles lack value, but frontline workers often aren’t recognised equally.

Takeaway: We all need to own our rubbish — and rethink how we value the people keeping the system running.

This week on the Rubbish Talk Podcast we welcome a special guest – Michael Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Circular Communities Scotland – for an in-depth conversation about the role of community-led projects in building a circular economy. Michael’s journey into the sector wasn’t part of a grand plan; he began his career in financial services before moving into the third sector, where he has now spent seven years leading an organisation that has grown from just four staff to a team of ten, and from 115 members to an impressive 268 charities and social enterprises.

Circular Communities Scotland’s mission is to work nationally, focus on community-led action, and support projects that keep resources in use for as long as possible. Michael explains that the charity’s work falls into two main strands: supporting its members through events, training, and resources such as funding seminars, and representing them at policy level, advocating for changes that make reuse and repair easier. Their recently published Reuse First Manifesto calls for exactly these kinds of systemic shifts.

Although the sector is growing, Michael is clear that challenges remain. Competing with cheap, quickly replaced products is difficult, especially when repair costs can outweigh replacement prices. Funding uncertainty is a constant issue for many third-sector organisations, often forcing them into short-term planning. There is also a pressing need for product design standards that make items more repairable and longer lasting. Michael points out that the benefits of reuse are not as visible as a wind turbine or an electric car, but the impacts are real—creating jobs, reducing poverty, strengthening communities, and cutting carbon emissions.

Changing mindsets is a big part of the challenge. Michael would like to see second-hand and reused goods become socially desirable rather than “second best.” His vision is for sharing libraries and repair hubs to be a fixture on every high street, backed by a level playing field that allows circular economy businesses to compete on price. He also believes we need to better communicate the social and environmental benefits of reuse, repair, and sharing so they are valued alongside more visible environmental initiatives.

For anyone wanting to get involved, Michael recommends visiting their website and using the “Reuse Near Me” map to find local projects by material type. Whether you’re looking to donate, volunteer, or simply learn more, there’s likely a project near you making a difference.

The key takeaway from this episode is that a circular economy is as much about people as it is about resources. By rethinking how we use and value our possessions, we can create jobs, support communities, and protect the planet.

Useful Links from Michael:

• 🌐 Website: www.circularcommunities.scot

• 📍 Member Map: Find a reuse project near you

• 📄 Impact Report 2024: Read here

This week we dig into one of construction’s most misunderstood materials: plasterboard. Why is it banned from landfill? What risks does it pose? And why is so much still being tossed into skips?

News Roundup

Plastic & Public Health

A report in The Lancet warns plastic pollution is damaging human health at every stage of life and costing $1.5 trillion annually. Alasdair and Jane discuss how even "sustainable" packaging choices like plastic wine bottles raise questions, and highlight growing concerns about microplastics in food and drink.

Recycling Industry Turmoil

Biffa has closed its Sunderland plastics plant — the latest sign that UK recycling capacity is under pressure. Meanwhile, Veolia is investing £70m in a new facility in Shrewsbury. Alasdair argues we need better reporting: baling is not recycling.

Waste Crime Update

The Joint Unit for Waste Crime released its 2024–25 report. A few vehicles and sites were inspected, but Jane and Alasdair agree: the scale of enforcement is nowhere near what’s needed.

Landfill Tax Reforms

Plans to scrap the lower tax rate for inert waste could see the cost of landfill rise dramatically — from £4 to over £126 per tonne. The hosts warn this could trigger a spike in fly-tipping unless recycling systems are improved.

Rubbish Rant:

Jane’s had enough. A skip in her village was filled with reusable plasterboard, timber, and cardboard — all good materials thrown away. A builder at the pub even said they used to reuse everything.

Even if the skip is heading for a recycling site, Jane points out that only the biggest, cleanest bits get recovered. The rest? Lost to landfill or incineration.

Alasdair links it to his appearance on The Gaffer podcast: half a sheet of plasterboard might not seem like much, but over time that waste adds up — in cost and carbon.

Takeaway: If you’re producing waste, you can help reduce it. Segregate. Reuse. Ask your contractor where the skip is going.

Topic: Deep Dive Into Plasterboard

Plasterboard contains gypsum, which breaks down in landfill and creates hydrogen sulphide — a toxic, sometimes fatal gas. That’s why the UK banned it from landfill back in 2009.

But despite the ban, plasterboard is still showing up in general waste skips. Alasdair’s recent TikTok (now with over 79k views) showed exactly that — and sparked heated responses ranging from “I paid for the skip, I’ll do what I want” to “they’ll sort it at the plant.” But will they?

The reality is: plasterboard can only be recycled if it’s clean and separated. Jane and Alasdair explore where gypsum comes from, how it can be reused, and how take-back schemes (like Knauf and British Gypsum) rely on good on-site practices. Mixed skips = lost opportunity.

With newer plasterboard products containing foil, foam and other layers, the recycling process is becoming more complex. Still, the key message is clear: segregate at the source.

Got thoughts or feedback? Email [email protected] or connect on TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook.

See you again next Thursday at 4pm!

This week, we're moving to the second stage of the waste hierarchy — reuse! Alasdair and Jane unpack the importance of giving things a second life, whether it's takeaway tubs turned into lunchboxes, refilling your water bottle, or buying a jacket second hand.

News Roundup

UK Recycling: Up overall, but Scotland’s slipping

New stats show UK recycling rose to 44.6% in 2023, but Scotland fell behind at just 42.1%. Despite having food waste segregation for over a decade, public engagement still lags. Wales led the way again with 57%.

Zero Waste Scotland shake-up

Iain Gulland will step down as CEO of Zero Waste Scotland by the end of 2025. Alasdair hopes new leadership will take things back to basics and focus on building public understanding before pushing ambitious circular economy targets.

£1.1 billion for recycling infrastructure

The UK government has committed £1.1bn from packaging reforms to improve local recycling services. Businesses will now pay to cover the cost of managing the packaging they produce — a key part of extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Wet wipe ban on the way in Wales

Wales has announced a ban on plastic-containing wet wipes by December 2026, and England is consulting on doing the same. Scotland has yet to commit. Jane and Alasdair revisit the infamous London fatberg, made of congealed oils, wipes, and… Kit Kat wrappers.

Greenwash alert: Kit Kat’s "recyclable" wrapper

Kit Kat’s new plastic wrapper claims it can be recycled “if opened in one piece.” But Alasdair is sceptical — where can the public actually recycle it? And who’s collecting it? More greenwash than green action.

TikTok is buzzing

Our TikTok is gaining momentum! Alasdair’s video on plasterboard in skips racked up over 79K views, leading to next week’s episode topic: why plasterboard is banned from landfill, and what we can do with it.

Alasdair’s guest appearance on “The Gaffer”

He recently featured on The Gaffer podcast with Gavin Coyle to talk construction waste, plasterboard, and practical tips for small contractors. Link coming soon.

Topic: Reuse the Waste You Produce

Reusing is often the simplest and most effective way to cut waste. Alasdair explains it best: if every person in the UK reused a plastic bottle just once, we’d remove 68 million bottles from the system overnight. That's huge.

Jane and Alasdair chat about practical ways reuse shows up in daily life: reusable flasks, food containers, takeaway tubs, and yes — those trendy Stanley cups. They also touch on initiatives like BorrowCup in Glasgow and Circular Communities Scotland, which connects people to reuse and repair hubs near them.

They also revisit Episode 57 with Anthony Burns from ACS Clothing, a company pioneering clothing reuse, repairs, and rental at scale — showing that reuse isn't just for individuals, it's a business model too.

From Vinted to charity shops, repair cafés to secondhand tech, the tools are there — it’s just about building new habits.

Rubbish Rant: Misleading Headlines

This week’s rant? Sensationalist headlines. One paper claimed households could be fined £200 for binning toothpaste tubes incorrectly. The truth? New bin rules in England are targeting gross contamination, not honest mistakes.

Alasdair calls out the media for causing fear rather than clarity. And realistically, most toothpaste tubes aren’t even accepted in kerbside recycling — yet.

This week’s solution:

• Use items fully

• Know what your council accepts

• And don’t believe everything you read in bold print.

Welcome to the new format of Rubbish Talk!

Rubbish Rant

Why can’t we just take our litter home?

In our first-ever official Rubbish Rant under the new podcast format, Alasdair kicks things off with a very relatable frustration: litter left behind on Scottish beaches after a sunny weekend. Despite bins being placed every 20 yards, people still leave glass bottles, overflowing bags, and general waste scattered around — creating hazards for wildlife and kids alike.

Jane jumps in to highlight the absurdity: if you managed to carry your full bottles and picnic gear to the beach, surely you can carry the lighter, empty waste back? Not to mention the seagull buffet that results when bags are left beside bins.

The Rubbish Talk Rule: No rant without a solution!

This week’s fix? Take your litter home and recycle it properly — it’s easier, cleaner, and safer for everyone.

This Weeks Topic: Reduce the Waste You Produce

The best waste is the waste you never create.

This week, Alasdair and Jane unpack the very top of the waste hierarchy: waste prevention. While most people jump straight to recycling, it’s actually the third best option — and this episode explores how to stop waste before it even starts.

Don’t need it? Don’t buy it.

Alasdair kicks things off with the perfect example: the running race t-shirt drawer. How many freebies do we really need? Instead, opt for charity donations or tree-planting schemes if you’re given the choice.

Say no to plastic tat.

Whether it's kids’ toys from fast food meals or birthday party clutter, there’s a massive opportunity to rethink what we gift and consume. Jane recalls McDonald’s Happy Meal toys — fun for 5 minutes, landfill for 500 years.

Borrow, don’t buy.

Libraries, toy libraries, tool libraries — they're all brilliant alternatives to purchasing things you’ll only use once. Plus, they help rebuild that old-school community spirit of sharing what you already have.

Shop with a plan

Impulse buys, over-ordering food, falling for “Buy One Get One Free” deals — these all lead to waste. Planning meals, checking your cupboards, and asking "do I really need this?" before clicking buy can make a massive difference.

Your challenge this week:

Before you buy anything — online or in-store — take a moment to check if you already have it, really need it, or can borrow it instead. Let us know how you get on at [email protected] or tag us on social media!

News Roundup

Alasdair Eats McDonald’s for the First Time in 10 Years

What followed was an impromptu waste audit: 93 grams of packaging from one meal. Multiply that by 1.4 billion UK orders per year, and that’s 130,000 tonnes of waste, much of which won’t be recycled.

Despite most packaging being technically recyclable, fast-food waste often ends up in overflowing bins or as litter. Alasdair even made a few videos breaking this down — check them out on our TikTok @rubbishtalkpodcast to see the waste in action!

Dutch Innovation Tackles River Plastics

The Netherlands has developed the world’s first self-sorting microplastic trap for rivers — using only water flow physics.

Inspired by fish gills, the trap filters out plastic while allowing natural debris to pass through, collecting up to 82% of floating plastic waste — without power or moving parts. It’s a smart step in fighting pollution at the source.

Landfill Ban Looms in Scotland

Scotland’s 2026 landfill ban on biodegradable waste is fast approaching — and the country is not ready. With limited incineration (waste-to-energy) capacity and some plants shutting down, the waste industry is facing a huge challenge.

We're potentially looking at 90+ lorries a day transporting waste to England, just to keep up. It’s a logistical, environmental, and policy mess that desperately needs attention.

This week on Rubbish Talk, we’re joined by Charlotte Davies, Senior Consultant at Beyondly and the first-ever Early Careers President for CIWM. Charlotte shares her inspiring journey into the world of waste and resources—from her early climate-conscious student days to leading work on packaging, circularity, and life cycle assessments. She opens up about the quirks of bin audits, the impact of new legislation like EPR, and why raising the profile of waste is crucial in tackling the climate crisis. Packed with insight, passion, and the perfect amount of rubbish humour, this episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about how waste fits into the bigger sustainability picture.

In Episode 66, we’re joined by Rod Paterson, Senior Purchasing Manager at Ekman Recycling and Commercial Director at Alan Morris Recycling. Rod reflects on his decades-long journey through the waste and recycling industry — from his early days in septic tanks to leading award-winning teams and driving business growth. Along the way, he shares hard-earned lessons in health and safety, thoughts on industry inconsistencies, and why people remain at the heart of everything he does. A candid, insightful, and at times hilarious conversation you won’t want to miss.

Tune in to Episode 56 of Rubbish Talk as Jane and Alasdair welcome Louise Robertson, founder of the Sustainables Academy, to explore her game-changing circular-economy curriculum, youth-led sustainability clubs and “Just One Thing” eco-actions. Discover how her volunteer-powered platform is empowering teachers and students in 61 countries to design waste out of the system—one classroom at a time.

In episode 64 of Rubbish Talk, we sit down with Guy MacGregor, Business Development Director at Binn Group. Guy shares insights into their innovative eco-park in Scotland, where they’re transforming waste management through recycling, renewable energy, and cutting-edge technologies. Tune in to hear how Binn Group is leading the way in sustainability and the future of waste management!