A wealth of information on waste is regularly published by Scotland's environment watchdog throughout the year to ensure people have access to useful data.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) produces a variety of data on waste arisings and waste management in Scotland, which is of particular interest to anyone involved in the waste industry and particularly waste management planners.
The latest reports to be published contain important information on household, commercial and industrial wastes:
ยท Business waste reports - waste produced by commerce and industry in Scotland
ยท Waste Statistics Regulations reports - waste generated and treated in Scotland
Bill Proctor, SEPA's Waste Data Unit manager, said: "These reports, taken together with our publications on municipal waste, provide a comprehensive picture of waste management in Scotland. SEPA has published them as part of its programme to improve data availability for our customers."
ยท Business waste reports
Business waste accounts for approximately one third of the controlled waste produced in Scotland. The business waste reports contain important data on the types and quantities of business waste produced in Scotland in 2004 and 2006. These reports show a drop in the quantity of waste produced by businesses over this period.
Business waste comes from public sector organisations, as well as from commercial and industrial companies, such as factories, utility and transport companies, shops, offices, hotels, restaurants, schools and
hospitals.
The data were obtained directly from businesses using a questionnaire-based survey and were analysed statistically by Napier University.
ยท Waste Statistics Regulations reports
The Waste Statistics Regulations reports contain information on the types and quantity of waste generated and treated in Scotland in 2004 and 2006.
Each report contains data on commercial, industrial and household waste for Scotland as a whole, and by business sector.
The figures were gathered for the European Union Waste Statistics Regulations, which require all Member States to report waste data to the European Commission every two years.
The above reports, plus more information on waste data, are available at
www.sepa.org.uk/waste/waste_data/waste_data_reports.aspx