Highland Council scraps plans for new Inverness waste incinerator after local campaign

Highland Council has decided against moving forward with plans for an incinerator to burn household waste in Inverness after opposition from local campaigners.

The council was considering building an incinerator on the site of the former Longman landfill, which could have burned up to 65,000 tonnes of waste per year.

Incineration of waste emits harmful pollution, which contributes to climate change.

The Scottish Government introduced a ban on new incinerators in 2022. However, those already in the planning system are still able to proceed.

The Highland Council said its reasons for changing direction on future waste management included public concern about incineration, not wanting to add to the vast amount of plastic being burned, and the need to reduce emissions through recycling.

Recycling figures in Scotland have flatlined for a decade at about 43%, despite the Scottish Government’s previous commitment to reach 60% by 2020.

In 2023, the Highland Council area’s recycling rate was 36%, lower than the national average. This decreased from the previous year when the local recycling rate was 37%.

The council will extend its plans for three years, including sending waste to an existing incinerator in Dunbar.

Local campaigner Anne Thomas said: “We’ve been campaigning against an incinerator at the Longman for many years.

“We need to reduce waste and reuse and recycle it, not burn it. We will then need less incinerators.

“They’re also not an efficient way of generating electricity, producing more carbon emissions than coal. We’re very glad Highland Council has decided against this huge waste of money and resources.”

Kim Pratt, Circular Economy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “The Highland Council has made a positive decision for local people and for the environment.

“A new incinerator would have locked them into decades of burning waste, which is a disaster for the planet and a risk to the health of people who live nearby.

“It can now use the next three years of its waste contract to come up with a plan which is focused on improving access to reuse and recycling for its residents.

“Well done to all of the local people who campaigned for this outcome. I hope we see other councils in Scotland which are considering a new incinerator follow the lead of the Highland Council and say no to these polluting plants.”

Communities & Place Committee chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie, said: “After careful consideration and analysis, it has been agreed that a merchant provider solution is considered the most appropriate long term solution to our statutory waste management obligations and that an energy-from-waste facility within the Highlands is not considered to be a suitable course of action.

“Our objective as a Council remains focused on reducing the tonnage of residual waste transported over time – through the impacts of waste management collection service changes already being implemented across the Highlands.