AN IMMEDIATE review into Fife Council's "drastically" declining recycling record has been called for by a local MSP.

Alex Rowley has written to Steve Grimmond, chief executive of the local authority, and is requesting urgent action to address rising waste in the Kingdom.

The Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP stated that the most recent household recycling target was for 60 per cent of household waste to be recycled by 2020.

In 2019, the percentage achieved in Fife was only 44.5 per cent.

This is the first time since the meaning of household waste was changed in 2011 that Fife Council has fallen below 50 per cent recycling rates.

The figures were obtained from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA's) tonnage and percentage of household waste recycled in 2019 by local authority area findings.

Mr Rowley says that Fife needs to act now to halt the decline.

He said: “I am asking Fife Council to carry out an immediate review to find out why the recycling rates are so poor.

“In 2011, Fife Council had the best recycling rates in the country, and now we are amongst some of the worst. We need to get to the bottom of this and find out why recycling rates in Fife have been falling.

“The Scottish Government also needs to ensure that local communities have good access to local recycling facilities. There is too much reliance on large-scale incineration and we need better plans put forward to help generate a circular economy with much less waste.

“We are in the middle of a climate emergency and every government around the world needs to recognise that and take the necessary steps to address it. Helping with recycling and tackling waste may be a small step in tackling the climate emergency, but it is a vitally important one to take.”

In response, Councillor Ross Vettraino said that Mr Rowley "really needs to get up to date with what is going on".

The convener of Fife Council's environment and protective services sub-committee said: "Fife Council continues to be fully committed to providing one of the best kerbside recycling services in the country, which is supported by one of the country's best network of recycling centres and recycling points, meaning we are in full compliance with the Scottish Household Recycling Charter.

"While it's disappointing that our recycling rate has fallen slightly, this is the case across Scotland and other local authorities are experiencing similar issues.

“Contributing factors include stricter guidelines on compost accreditation, reducing the percentage of material which can be recycled. Wood waste is now also used as biomass for district heating and cannot be included in the recycling tonnage. It is, however, making a huge contribution towards sustainability, which is to be welcomed.

“The council is committed to working with our communities to re-emphasise the importance of recycling, and reducing the amount of contamination in bins.

This week is Recycling Week, and we’d ask Fifers to check for messages on our website and social media to see guidance on what they can do to help.

"Fife Resource Solutions, on behalf of the council, has changed its processes so that all of the recyclable material collected in Fife is now recycled in Fife, developing a higher-quality product which can be sold at a better price. The council has also submitted a bid for the National Recycling Fund which will hopefully see residents being able to recycle hard to recycle plastic at home, which will make a positive contribution to recycling rates.

“The council is constantly reviewing its recycling rates with a view to identifying performance trends. Mr Rowley really needs to get up to date with what is going on."

Robin Baird, chief executive officer at Cireco – the new trading name of Resource Efficient Solutions – has invited Mr Rowley for a tour so he can see first-hand how material is being sorted within the Kingdom.

He said: "Fife continues to be at the forefront of recycling in Scotland as is evidenced by now having one of the most state-of-the-art recycling facilities in Scotland. Over the last few years, plastics especially have become harder to recycle which meant we could no longer accept all plastics within the plastics/container collections.

“However, the council's commitment to enhance what can be done at home has seen a bid submitted to the National Recycling Improvement Fund to introduce a further enhanced sorting of plastics at the facility allowing the council to expand the materials collected at the kerbside.

“We would be delighted to offer Mr Rowley a tour of the facility to demonstrate the high-quality material that is now being sorted in Fife."