Data & Evidence
Establishing a robust baseline of existing reuse activity and potential quantities for additional reuse is fundamental to choosing and designing the most appropriate and effective option and is essential for both setting targets and monitoring and evaluating impact. This will require data collation, analysis, and further stakeholder engagement.
Baseline reuse data
It is likely that local authorities will partner with organisations, potentially from the third sector but also the private sector, in the delivery of reuse collections, segregation at HWRCs, refurbishment, and repair and resale. For this reason, local authorities will need to be clear about the potential quantities for reuse that both they and their partners would be expected to manage.
As well as looking at data from other local authorities, it is important that each local authority examines their own particular situation locally, in terms of waste generated and how it is currently managed for reuse. In addition, there are a range of other indicators that can be important depending on the desired approach and strategy, including the potential economic value of items reused and the opportunity for additional social impacts.
The quantities received at HWRCs will vary based on site size, the population being served and the level of interest in recycling and reuse. Other factors may include site accessibility and communications.
Data required
- Baseline assessment of council’s own reuse activities and the quantities handled, plus external local management of reuse, including third sector and other local authorities
- Quantification and assessment of potential items for reuse
- Assessment of the carbon impact from current and potential future operations
Data support
Guidance on conducting a waste assessment in your local authority can be found on the Zero Waste Cities website, within their Waste Assessment Guide. This can be a useful tool to assess what waste is typical for your area and can be fed into your reuse strategy.
For Scotland specifically, SEPA’s report on waste data both from all waste sources and specifically from households. You can find these data tools on their website and can even filter the Household Waste Data by local authority to use in your own planning.
Examples of baseline data in practice
Research in Bavaria indicates that “between 13% and 16% of Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), used furniture, and used leisure goods could immediately be prepared for reuse” and that a “further potential of 13–29% could be unlocked through changes to the mode of collection, storage and the overall treatment of wastes” [“Potentials of preparation for reuse: A case study at collection points in the German state of Bavaria”, Journal of Cleaner Production].
In Flanders, Belgium, weight-based targets have been set for social enterprises that contract with Flemish local authorities, to drive forward the reuse sector. This is not just for materials collected via HWRCs but for any diversion method. In 2022 the target was for 7kg of items per inhabitant to be resold from reuse shops across each local authority area (using standard weights for item types). A larger quantity (than 7kg per inhabitant) is received and/or collected, with a percentage of this recycled and/or sent for disposal (landfill or EfW) [Belgium: Waste prevention country profile].
The Flemish approach requires that a minimum of 50% of items collected should be reused to reach the target. This is for all materials sold at the shops of the organisations contracted by local authorities, and also includes items that are dropped off by the public at HWRCs, which are estimated to be circa 20% of the totals sold.
The target of 7kg per local inhabitant may be lower than is actually achievable. For instance, Moray Council’s Waterford Road HWRC generates 20Kg per year of reuse per local inhabitant. The HWRC serves a community of circa 10,000 people and, in 2021-22, provided 200 tonnes of reuse (20 Kg per local resident). However, this is now a well-established reuse location (operating for circa 20 years), with significant expertise and from the delivery organisation, Moray Waste Busters (MWB). The Council and MWB have developed a strong relationship which, allied with a strong level of marketing and communications, assists in driving up levels of drop-offs at the HWRC.
Estimating the carbon impacts of reuse opportunities
From 1st April 2021, public bodies must report, where applicable, against targets for their indirect emissions Public Bodies Climate Change Duties (PBCCD) Annual Report. This covers Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity and heat and all other indirect Scope 3 emissions in an organisation’s value chain. Carbon emissions related to goods and services procured by councils are categorised as part of Scope 3 emissions. This obligation is likely to significantly influence local authority decision-making regarding service provision in the future. Templates on how to complete these for your local authority can be found on the Sustainable Scotland Network website.
Increasing the amount of goods available for reuse, plus the procurement of second-hand and reclaimed items for council services, have the potential to make a useful contribution to meeting Net Zero targets. Using the estimate of number of items and tonnages determined through waste collection and composition analysis, as shown in the previous section, the carbon savings can be calculated.
To calculate the carbon savings from reuse there are numerous tools available online. There is currently no Scottish model, however, the Reuse Network provides a calculator for different items. You could also look to use the Spanish AERESS model which the European RREUSE network uses. Please note that carbon savings based on items made available for reuse cannot be reported as part of organisational savings for the local authority, as the savings are allocated to the party buying the reused items over new. The calculations from these tools could be considered as additional information for the ‘wider influence’ section of a council’s annual report and for example the local authority may realise some benefits through reduced waste to landfill.
In July 2023 Highland Council recognised in its draft Net Zero strategy that approximately 80% of its carbon footprint relates to Scope 3 emissions.
