Household waste generated and managed 2024
An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland
Publication Date: 28th October 2025, 9:30 AM
This release shows the 2024 calendar year summary of household waste generated in Scotland and managed by or on behalf of Scottish local authorities. Information on the methodology used to prepare this release and a definition of terms is in the methodology and glossary
Key points
Scottish Household waste – 2024 calendar year
The total amount of household waste generated in Scotland in 2024 was 2.32 million tonnes, an increase of 10,000 tonnes (0.4%) from 2023 (Table 1A).
For 2024, the Scottish household waste recycling rate1 was 44.3%, an increase of 0.72 percentage points from the 43.5% rate achieved in 2023. The amount of household waste recycled between 2023 and 2024 increased by 21,000 tonnes (2.1%) to 1.02 million tonnes.
For 2024, the total amount of Scottish household waste managed by other diversion from landfill was 1.04 million tonnes, an increase of 143,000 tonnes (16.1%) from 2023. Most of the diverted waste in 2024 was managed by incineration3 (853,000 tonnes, 82.3%), compared with 746,000 tonnes (83.6%) in 2023.
The amount of Scottish household waste landfilled in 2024 was 254,000 tonnes, a decrease of 154,000 tonnes (37.7%) from 2023. This is the lowest amount of household waste landfilled in the current time series. It continues a long term trend, with a reduction of 1.20 million tonnes (82.5%) since 2011. The landfill rate in 2024 was 11.0% which was 6.7 percentage points lower than for 2023.
The carbon impact of Scottish household waste generated and managed in 2024 was 5.31 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), which is the equivalent to 0.96 tCO2e per person. There was a decrease of 38,000 tCO2e (0.7%) from 2023, and a reduction of 1.45 million tCO2e (21.5%) from 2011.
Waste Summary 2024
Generated and managed
Figure - summary
Table - summary
Table - summary per person
Notes:
- Click on any column in the chart to see a breakdown by local authority.
- Charts may be viewed in full screen using the three-bar icon located at the top-right corner of the chart.
Data and Trends
Household waste generated
The total amount of household waste generated in Scotland in 2024 was 2.32 million tonnes, an increase of 10,000 tonnes (0.4%) from 2023 and a decrease of 292,000 tonnes (11.2%) from 2011. The increase in 2024 follows a year, 2023, which was the lowest amount of waste generated in the current time series (Figure 2).
Figure - Waste generated
Table - Waste generated
Segregated recyclate collected via kerbside
The amount of segregated recyclate collected for recycling via kerbside collections in 2024 was 647,000 tonnes, a decrease of 8,400 tonnes (1.3%) from 2023 (Figure 3). This is in contrast to the overall 0.4% increase in waste generated (Figure 2).
The proportion of segregated recyclate collected in kerbside collections in 2024 (64.9% of the total recyclate collected) was slightly lower than for 2023 (66.2%), however it remains consistent with a longer-term increasing trend from 59.3% in 2013 (Figure 3). The 2020 spike in waste collected by kerbside collections as a percentage of total source segregated collections is likely due to the unavailability of other methods of collection during the COVID-19 restrictions during this period, such as household waste recycling centres.
Figure - kerbside recyclate
Table - kerbside recyclate
Notes:
- Data series starts with 2013, which is the year data started to be collected in WasteDataFlow question 100.
Recyclate collected by rurality
The reduction in the kerbside collection of segregated recyclate between 2023 and 2024 was less for rural authorities4 (a decrease of 2,400 tonnes, 0.9%) compared to urban authorities (a decrease of 6,000 tonnes, 1.6%, Figure 4)
Figure - recyclate by rurality
Notes:
- Data series starts with 2013, which is the year data started to be collected in WasteDataFlow question 100.
Table - recyclate by rurality
Notes:
- Data series starts with 2013, which is the year data started to be collected in WasteDataFlow question 100.
Household waste recycled
Waste recycled includes waste recycled or reused and waste composted. A full description of recycling is given in the glossary.
For 2024, the Scottish household waste recycling rate was 44.3% (Figure 5), an increase of 0.7 percentage points2 from the 43.5% recycling rate achieved in 2023, and an increase of 4.7 percentage points from the 39.6% achieved in 20115.
In 2024, the total amount of Scottish household waste recycled was 1.02 million tonnes, an increase of 21,000 tonnes (2.1%) from 2023, and 7,500 tonnes (0.7%) less than the 1.03 million tonnes of waste recycled in 2011 (Figure 6).
Figure - recycling rates
Table - recycling rates
Breakdown of household waste recycled
In 2024, of the 1.02 million tonnes of household waste recycled, the majority (661,000 tonnes, 64.5%) was recycled or reused, with household waste composted contributing the remaining 363,000 (35.5%).
Figure - Recycle breakdown
Table - Recycle breakdown
Household waste recycled or reused
The 661,000 tonnes of Scottish household waste recycled or reused in 2024 was an increase of 20,000 tonnes (3.1%) compared with 2023 (Table 7).
Of the material categories of waste recycled or reused in 2024 (Table 7), Wood wastes showed the largest change compared with 2023 (an increase 9,900 tonnes, 14.3%) followed by Metallic wastes (an increase 7,700 tonnes, 9.0%).
The largest material category of Scottish household waste recycled or reused in 2024 was Paper and cardboard wastes (167,000 tonnes, 25.2% of all household waste recycled or reused (Table 7)).
There is a longer term downward trend of Paper and cardboard wastes recycled or reused, with a reduction of 74,000 tonnes (30.6%) from 2011. The amount of Paper and cardboard wastes recorded as recycled in 2024 was the lowest amount since the start of the current time series in 2011.
Figure - Recycle or reuse
Table - recycle or reuse
Paper and cardboard wastes
The WasteDataFlow reporting categories that contribute to Paper and cardboard wastes recycled or reused, as depicted in Figure 8, indicate that the recycling or reuse of segregated paper waste has been in decline since 2013. Mixed paper and cardboard wastes, however, have remained more constant or increased over time. This may be partly due to replacement of segregated paper collections with mixed paper and cardboard collections, for example, an increase of 27.2% in mixed collection recycling between 2023 and 2024 has been attributed by several authorities to the introduction of paper and cardboard (fibre) bins. The decrease in segregated paper recycled or reused is also likely to be partly due to a move away from print media to electronic media.
Figure - Paper and card
Table - Paper and card
Notes:
- Paper includes the WasteDataFlow category of Books.
- Data series starts with 2013, which is the year data started to be collected in WasteDataFlow question 100.
Household waste composted
Waste composted is waste recycled by biological treatment, through composting at a composting plant or through digestion at an anaerobic digestion facility.
For 2024, the amount of Scottish household waste composted was 363,000 tonnes, an increase of 1,300 tonnes (0.4%) from 2023, and an increase of 32,000 tonnes (9.5%) from 20113.
In 2024, three-quarters of the household waste composted was Vegetal wastes (75.0%) with Animal and mixed food waste making up the remainder (25.0%, Figure 9). These proportions were similar in 2023. In 2011, however, the percentage of Vegetal waste was higher (94.6%) and the percentage of Animal and mixed food waste lower ( 5.3% ). The increase in the proportion of animal and mixed food waste over time corresponds to the roll out of segregated food waste collections by local authorities6.
In 2024, the total tonnage of Vegetal wastes composted was 273,000 tonnes, a decrease of 470 tonnes (0.2%) from 2023, however a decrease of 41,000 (13.2%) from 2011. Therefore, much of the overall increase in waste composted between 2011 and 2024 was due to the composting of Animal and mixed food waste, which increased by 73,000 tonnes (421%) over this period.
Figure - Composted
Table - Composted
Other diversion of household waste from Landfill
Other diversion from landfill is waste material not recycled or landfilled. This includes net waste incinerated, incinerator ash outputs recovered, and organic material recovered that does not meet quality standards. A full description is found in the glossary.
For 2024, the total amount of Scottish household waste managed by other diversion from landfill7 was 1.04 million tonnes , an increase of 143,000 tonnes (16.1%) from 2023 and an increase of 915,000 tonnes (758%) from 2011 (Figure 10).
Other diversion treatment breakdown
In 2024, most of the waste diverted was managed by incineration3 (853,000 tonnes, 82.3%) compared with 746,000 tonnes (83.6%) in 2023 (Figure 10). Other treatments (Figure 10) were primarily incinerator bottom ash (138,000 tonnes, data not shown) from incineration of household waste sent for recovery, used for example, in road construction.
Figure - Other diversion
Table - Other diversion
Household Waste Incinerated
In 2024, 853,000 tonnes of Scottish household waste were incinerated3 which was 107,000 tonnes (14.3%) greater than in 2023, and 783,000 tonnes (1,116%) greater than in 2011.
The increase between 2023 and 2024 was mainly due to an increase in Household and similar wastes (148,000 tonnes, 28.1%) which comprise primarily general refuse. In previous years the main management route for such wastes would be landfilling8.
Figure - Incinerated
Table - Incinerated
Notes:
Incineration is net waste incinerated and excludes metals and incinerator bottom ash sent for further waste management.
Household waste landfilled
The amount of Scottish household waste landfilled in 2024 was 254,000 tonnes, a decrease of 154,000 tonnes (37.7%) from 2023, and a reduction of 1.20 million tonnes (82.5%) from 2011. The amount of waste landfilled in 2024 is the lowest in the current time series.
For 2024, the Scottish household waste landfill rate was 11.0% (Table 1A). This is 6.7 percentage points lower than the landfill rate in 2023 (17.7%) and a decrease of 44.8 percentage points from 2011 (55.8%).
In 2024, most of the Scottish household waste landfilled comprised Household and similar wastes (138,000 tonnes, 54.2%, Figure 12). The next largest category was Combustion wastes (104,000 tonnes, 41.0%). Between 2023 and 2024, a reduction in the landfilling of Household and similar wastes by 154,000 tonnes was partially offset by a 1,000 tonne increase in the landfilling of Combustion wastes.
Figure - Landfill
Table - Landfill
Carbon impacts of Scottish household waste
The carbon impact9 is a measure of the whole-life carbon impacts of waste, from resource extraction and manufacturing emissions, right through to waste management emissions. Further information is available in the glossary.
Most carbon impacts are associated with the waste generated (Figure 13) which encapsulates the whole-life carbon impacts of the material. Negative values for Recycling and Other Diversion indicate that these waste management methods lead to carbon reductions (e.g. from reducing raw material demand) that outweigh the carbon emissions of generating and managing the waste.
The carbon impact of Scottish household waste generated and managed in 2024 was 5.31 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e, Table 13), which is the equivalent to 0.96 per person (Table 1B). There was a decrease of 38,000 tCO2e (0.7%) from 2023.
The amount of waste generated by Scottish households in 2024 was 11.2% below 2011 levels (see waste generated section). In contrast, the carbon impact of Scottish household waste generated and managed in 2024 was 21.5% (1.45 million tCO2e) below the 2011 level.
The carbon impact of a tonne of Scottish household waste (tCO2e/tonnes of waste generated) has declined by 11.6% between 2011 and 2024 (data not shown). This is largely a result of increased recycling rates, particularly for high carbon impact waste materials such as non-ferrous metallic wastes and glass wastes, as well as a reduction in waste generated and reduced landfilling of biodegradable waste.
Figure - Carbon impact
Table - Carbon impact
About household waste statistics
An Official Statistics publication for Scotland
This is an Official Statistics publication. These statistics have been produced to the high professional standards defined in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, which sets out fourteen principles under the pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value. More information on the Official Statistics Code of Practice web site.
Lead statistician – Peter Ferrett, SEPA
User statement
Data on Scottish household waste generation and management are collected to support policy development and monitor policy effectiveness, particularly the commitments in Making Things Last - A Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, and Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030. The data contribute to the UK Statistics on waste and are also used extensively by local and central government, the waste industry, researchers and the general public.
Revisions
SEPA will provide information about any revisions made to published information in this statistics release and the associated datasets. Revisions could occur for various reasons, including when data from third parties are unavailable or provisional at the time of publishing or if there are subsequent methodological improvements or refinements. The figures are accurate at the time of publication. However, the data may be updated if further revisions are necessary. Normally these revisions will be published concurrent with the next official release.
Revisions to 2023 local authority data since the last household waste statistical publication, published in October 2024, are shown below (Table 14). The revisions are due to a methodological change to the analysis of WasteDataFlow Question 100, which improved the capture of data for metal outputs from incineration processes. The result is a small decrease in other diversion of waste from landfill and increase in recycling of waste for some local authorities.
Notes:
Cells shaded in grey represent revisions amounting to a change of greater than or equal to 50 tonnes, greater than or equal to 100 tCO2e, or greater than or equal to 0.1 percentage point.
Methodology
Data were submitted by all 32 Scottish local authorities using the web-based reporting tool WasteDataFlow.
From 2014, composted wastes that did not reach the quality standards set by PAS 100/110 were accounted for as other wastes diverted from landfill and not as wastes composted, except where waste was processed at a new composting or anaerobic digestion site and the site indicated they had applied for and were working toward PAS compliance, in which case a 12-month grace period was applied for the purpose of including wastes composted in household recycling data. In 2024 there were no new sites that met this criterion.
As we move further away in time from the old composting measure used between 2011-2013, it becomes less important and a back series is helpful for understanding changes over a long period of time. For 2011-2013 the waste that met the PAS 100/110 standard was modelled to produce a back series, replacing the data reported under the previous composting measure. For each authority, the proportion of waste that was sent to a PAS 100/110 facility on average in 2014-2015 was applied to the waste sent for composting for each of the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. For example, if an authority sent 60% of its waste to a PAS 100/110 facility in 2014-15, then for the back series years of 2011, 2012 and 2013, 60% of waste sent for composting were counted as recycled. The non PAS 100/110 tonnes were allocated to the “Other Diversion from landfill” category.
Quality report
Further information on the methodology can be found in the accompanying household quality report.
National Method vs UK method
Household waste recycling figures are calculated according to Scotland’s national recycling rate methodology. The methodology differs to the Waste from households measure published by Defra in its UK Statistics on waste publication. The differences are summarised in Table 15 below.
Notes: A methodological change was made in 2022 to include metals from incineration bottom ash sent for recycling as part of the Scotland’s national recycling rate. Previously, these wastes were counted as Other Diversion from Landfill
Further information about differences between the national recycling measures of the four UK countries may be found in the Recycling Explainer published by Defra.
Enquiries
Enquiries on this publication to: SEPA Communications Department: media@sepa.org.uk
For further contact details please see contact.
Pre-release access
Pre-release access was made available to relevant persons five working days prior to publication in accordance with The Pre-release Access to Official Statistics (Scotland) Order 2008.
Besides analytical staff involved in the production and quality assurance of this publication, the following post holders in SEPA and the Scottish Government were given pre-release access up to 5 days before release:
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
Scottish Government Special Adviser x 1
Scottish Government Analyst x 3
Scottish Government Policy Official x 13
Scottish Government Communications Official x 2
Zero Waste Scotland Communications Official x 8
Zero Waste Scotland Policy Official x 4
SEPA Policy Official x 6
SEPA Communications Official x 10
SEPA Analyst x 4
Glossary of terms
BSI PAS 100 / 110 a national compost/digestate benchmark that specifies the minimum requirements for the process of composting/anaerobic digestion, the selection of material from which compost/digestate is made, and standards for the compost/digestate product quality. PAS 100 is applicable to composting facilities while PAS 110 is applicable to anaerobic digestion facilities. The use of this standard to improve the quality of compost/digestate in Scotland became Scottish Government policy in 2011, with 2014 being the first year it was applied to the household waste official statistics.
Carbon Impact a measure of the whole-life carbon impacts of waste, from resource extraction and manufacturing emissions, right through to waste management emissions, regardless of where in the world these impacts occur. The carbon impact of waste measure was developed by Zero Waste Scotland.
Compost like output (CLO) partially digested waste outputs generated from the biological treatment of residual municipal solid wastes at a process that involves both mechanical and biological treatment. Outputs typically do not conform to composting standards such as PAS 100/110.
Household waste waste generated by households (see full definition in Paragraph 1.2 of the Zero Waste Plan - guidance for local authorities).
Kerbside Collection A service provided by local authorities to households, of collecting and disposing of household waste and recyclables, which are presented to the authority on the kerb. It includes individual household waste containers, as well as communal bin stores provided to multiple tenants.
Landfill rate waste landfilled as a percentage of all waste generated. Note that total waste generated does not equal total waste managed due to stockpiled waste, which is counted in the generation figures and will be included in the managed figures in the year it is sent to final management.
- household waste treated by incineration, including any incinerator bottom ash diverted from landfill
- weight loss that occurs during the composting/digestion of waste to PAS 100/110 and non PAS 100/110 compost/digestate where the output is landfilled
- CLO that is not landfilled
- weight loss that occurs during mechanical and biological treatment processes (e.g. production of CLO and RDF)
- from 2014, any waste composted/digested that has not reached the quality standards set by PAS 100/110 and is not landfilled.
Recycling rate waste recycled as a percentage of all waste generated. Note that total waste generated does not equal total waste managed due to stockpiled waste, which is counted in the generation figures and will be included in the managed figures in the year it is sent to final management.
Refuse derived fuel (RDF) waste separated from residual municipal solid waste with a calorific value suitable for use as a fuel in combustion processes.
Segregated recyclate waste materials collected for recycling separately from residual waste collections. This includes collection of single materials as well as co-mingled materials.
tCO2e tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is a measure that allows the comparison of greenhouse gases relative to one unit of CO2.
Waste composted is waste recycled by biological treatment through composting at a composting plant or through digestion at an anaerobic digestion facility.
Waste generated is waste collected by or on behalf of local authorities that is managed within the relevant reporting year. This might include treated waste stockpiled prior to final management.
Waste landfilled includes all household waste that is disposed of at a landfill site instead of being recycled or diverted from landfill through other methods. It also includes incinerator ash that is landfilled, plus any recycling and composting rejects that occur during collection, sorting or further treatment that go to landfill.
Waste managed includes all wastes recycled, diverted from landfill and landfilled within the relevant reporting year. This includes stockpiled waste from a previous year sent to final management but excludes treated waste stockpiled prior to final management.
Waste recycled includes recyclable materials that have been recycled or reused and also biodegradable materials that have been composted or digested. The amount of waste recycled, reused and composted is that accepted by the reprocessor facility. As such it excludes any recycling rejects that occur during collection, sorting or further treatment. It does not include any waste composted that has not reached the quality standards set by PAS 100/110. Includes metals from incineration sent for recycling.
Wastedataflow A UK wide system administered by Defra for local authorities to report waste collected and managed within their jurisdiction. Data entry is via a series of numbered questions and finalised data are available to the public following publication. Further information may be found on the Wastedataflow web site.