Green ministers have been accused of implementing a “fake” ban on new incinerators - as it emerged a dozen more will be built by 2027.
Lorna Slater hailed the move to outlaw the environmentally damaging waste-burning facilities last year.
But the Scottish Green circular economy minister has admitted in a letter to Tory MSP Maurice Golden that 12 incinerators already “in the pipeline” will be allowed to be built.
Papers from the Scottish Government’s independent review of incineration last year highlighted a dozen plants either under construction or still to be built across the country.
Ten of those facilities aren’t slated to begin operations until at least 2025 - including four where the assumed operational date is 2027, four years away.
After the ban on new incineration facilities was announced last summer, the Greens hailed it as a “victory” for the environment.
But it follows damning figures this week which revealed Scotland is recycling less waste - and sending more to incinerators or landfill.
Golden hit out: “The SNP-Green government has tried to make a big deal about its ban on new incinerators.
“This is anything but a ban.
“We now know several more will be built right across Scotland, with some not opening until 2027.
“Anyone can see that’s not a ban on new incinerators – it’s quite the opposite.
“This is another example of the deception and incompetence at the heart of this administration which talks a good game on the environment, but delivers next to nothing.”
Stats this week from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency found that of the 9.6million tons of waste generated in 2021, just 56 per cent was recycled - down from 60 per cent in 2018, the last comparable year.
That reduction means almost 1.5 million tons less waste was recycled than five years ago.
Incineration also jumped by 14.6 per cent compared to 2019 - and shockingly, the amount of waste burned has tripled in a decade.
Responding to a written parliamentary question from Golden, Slater said new licences for incinerators would not be given “beyond those for which planning permission has already been granted”.
But plans for facilities around Scotland which were previously green-lit but are not yet under construction will still go ahead.
They include sites at Avondale and Lanark in South Lanarkshire, Killoch in East Ayrshire and Inverurie in Aberdeenshire which aren’t expected to go online until 2027.
The Scottish Government said it had followed the recommendations of its independent review.
Slater said: “We have been clear that developers should ensure their plans are informed by the review’s findings, particularly on capacity and decarbonisation.
"This approach, of limiting and gradually reducing Scotland’s incineration capacity, will mean that we can make sure we not only manage our waste today, but that our future waste infrastructure is aligned with our ambitious carbon reduction ambitions.”
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