Leading conservation charity, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, has welcomed the announcement of Scottish Government plans to cut waste over the next decade.

By more efficiently managing Scotland’s resources, not only will wildlife be protected and landfill reduced, but businesses will also save billions of pounds.

The Safeguarding Scotland’s Resources plan aims to cut all waste by 15% by 2025, including a target to cut waste by 7% by 2017.

New Scottish waste regulations which come into force in January 2014 will make it compulsory for all businesses to separate materials for recycling.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust believes that these plans may help to prevent fly-tipping (the illegal dumping of rubbish in unauthorised locations) by businesses. 

Fly-tipping blights the environment and can have fatal consequences for any wildlife that eats the bags, their contents, or gets trapped inside them.

Fly-tipping is an ongoing issue throughout the country and across the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s reserves. It occurred as recently as last weekend at Hadfast Valley Reserve near Cousland.

The Trust's Head of Policy, Dr Maggie Keegan, said: “The Scottish Wildlife Trust believes this policy could really get businesses thinking about how to reduce their waste – and importantly how that waste can be used to help build a circular economy. 

“On many of the Trust’s reserves – and across the Scottish countryside as a whole – fly-tipping is a major issue and we hope a by-product of this policy sees a reduction in this activity.

“Fly-tipping is a wildlife crime and businesses need to realise that they are not just doing something wrong by blighting our countryside with their mess – but also something illegal that can lead to prosecution.”