Waste Landfill Ban Update
Argyll and Bute Council · 19 June 2025
Back to Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee — 19 June 2025 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE ROAD AND INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES 19 JUNE 2025 WASTE LANDFILL BAN UPDATE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report is to provide members of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee (EDI) with an update on the progress towards landfill ban compliance. A further report in September will inform the EDI committee on the impacts of the immediate and long-term preferred options to landfill ban compliance by January 2026 and management of the sites post PPP expiry in September 2026. A further update on financial pressures and funding options will also be provided. 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that Members of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee consider the content of this report. 3.0 DETAIL BMW Landfill Ban and post PPP expiry service options progress 3.1 The previous report to the EDI in December 2024 provided an update on the Ban on Municipal Waste (BMW) and progress on the workstreams being taken forward to ensure a compliant solution is in place by January 2026. This report updates the progress to date and is summarised in more detail in Appendix 1. 3.2 Officers have progressed tasks to ensure that Council operated Waste sites are moving towards being able to support landfill ban compliance as set out in Appendix 1. Moreover, the sites which are operated by Biffa (formerly Renewi) which are landfill ban compliant and sites requiring change to comply with the landfill are noted in section 3.4. 3.3 The Council has a separate parallel process relating to the PPP contract hand- back. The process will be mapped out and timelines to execution agreed with Biffa in advance. This will be reported separately from the landfill ban after the commercial items are completed with Biffa. Summarised in Appendix 1. 3.4 The following table summarises the current position across the council area in terms of readiness for the BMW ban.
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Area Current position Outstanding Actions to become BMW compliant Island sites Currently we have live landfill sites in both Islay and Mull. These sites already have infrastructure in place to facilitate waste transfer activity for general waste. Post BMW ban, general waste will be stored in the waste transfer facilities and bulked to then be transported off the islands. Waste material from the islands is pre-treated and processed by the contractors. Vary existing haulage contracts to include general waste. The varying of the contract is relatively straight forward, the main challenge will be securing ferry space to transfer the additional waste. Helensburgh and Lomond area (H&L) Existing contract is compliant and there are extension provisions contained for the affiliated service needs. No direct action required to ensure landfill ban compliance. PPP Contract Area Currently operating Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plants at three locations (Oban, Lochgilphead and Dunoon), waste transfer stations at Campbeltown and Rothesay and a number of civic amenity and bring sites together with a contractual requirement to run a front loader commercial waste offering. Any requirement for pre- treatment of Waste through the PPP contract will be arranged by Biffa. Conversion of MBT plants to waste transfer stations being progressed by Biffa subject to finalising Heads of Terms. 3.5 The table above summarises the position in terms of preparation for the 2026 BMW ban. It is noteworthy that in addition to these actions there are a number of other activities underway including the removal of Compost Like Output (CLO). CLO is Waste material which has been treated and separated to then develop a CLO which can be used for the capping and restoration of landfill cells subject to SEPA approval. Officers have agreed the indexation calculations with Biffa, the indexation calculations are payments which were wrongly calculated by Biffa and the Council during the term of the contract. The difference in costs is circa £586k, the Council are required to make this payment to Biffa to conclude the matter, these actions will be progressed by Officers in conjunction with the CLO removal agreement. Biffa are testing the CLO with off-takers to test for compliant destinations. Currently estimated between £555K-£592K dependent on tonnage etc. Biffa will action as soon as SEPA provide guidance to them. Biffa await results from off-taking companies on the acceptability of the CLO to ensure compliant locations have capacity. Both of these costs have been attributed to the 2024-25 outturn position and funded from waste earmarked reserves. 3.6 Council run sites on Coll, Tiree, Mull, Islay, and Colonsay will have a compliant solution by the time the landfill ban comes into place in January 2026.
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The Blackhill site in Helensburgh is a Civic Amenity site (Recycling Centre) and all Waste material is transported from the site for re-processing. The March 2025 EDI committee agreed that the construction of a waste transfer station no longer provides the optimum solution to ensure BMW compliance and that the remainder of the £3m of capital budget earmarked for this project be retained to support other capital funding related pressures within the waste service At the end of the PPP contract in September 2026, the PPP landfill sites will revert back to the Council and an options appraisal is being developed for the future medium to longer term operating model for the services currently provided by the PPP contract. Biffa managed Waste sites requiring changes (formerly Renewi) • Lingerton, Lochgilphead – Lingerton currently has an operational landfill site, it is a Civic Amenity site and a co-mingled transfer station. To comply with the landfill ban the current Mechanical Biological Treatment plant requires to be converted to a Waste Transfer Station to facilitate the tipping on of all Waste material for re-processing. The Operational landfill site will remain open until the start of the landfill ban on the 1 Jan 2026. The Operational landfill may close after this date and it is likely that landfill restoration works would have to be completed to comply with SEPA requirements by the end of 2027. Combined costs for Lingerton and Dalinlongart are estimated at £3-4M for landfill closure and restoration works. Not budgeted and therefore noted as a cost pressure. As noted in Appendix 1 • Moleigh, Oban – Moleigh manages co-mingled waste and has a closed landfill with Civic Amenity site (Recycling Centre). Moleigh has a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant which will require conversion to a Waste Transfer Station for all Waste material. Biffa will coordinate and manage the conversion of the MBT plant. Once the works are complete, Moleigh will be ready to support delivery of a compliant solution. • Dalinlongart, Dunoon – Dalinlongart is a recycling and waste disposal site for Dunoon and Cowal. The site has an operational landfill site, a co- mingled Waste transfer station and a MBT plant which will require conversion to a Waste Transfer Station to be compliant with the landfill ban. Biffa will coordinate and manage the changes to the site. The Operational landfill site will remain open until the start of the landfill ban on the 1 Jan 2026. The Operational landfill may close after this date and it is likely that landfill restoration works would have to be completed to comply with SEPA requirements by the end of 2027. Combined costs for Lingerton and Dalinlongart are estimated at £3-4M for landfill closure and restoration works. Not budgeted and therefore noted as a cost pressure. As noted within table in appendix 1. • The Roading, Campbeltown, Westlands, Rothesay, and Bogleha,
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Dunoon are all ready to support the delivery of a compliant solution. 3.7 Biffa have allocated a Project Manager to lead the conversion of the MBT plants to Waste Transfer Stations at Dalinlongart, Lingerton and Moleigh once the Head of Terms have been agreed by the Council. 3.8 Officers have provided a summary of all outstanding actions and timescales to Members within Appendix 1 of this report. 4.0 CONCLUSION 4.1 In concluding this report, an update on the journey towards landfill ban compliance and PPP expiry measures has been shared with Members. Furthermore, site compliance information relating to the landfill ban and essential work streams and relevant completion dates are noted, along with other Waste related activities in Appendix 1. Council operated Waste sites are ready to support delivery of a compliant solution. The Waste PPP managed sites are ready to support landfill ban compliance apart from Dalinlongart, Lingerton and Moleigh which require the current Mechanical Biological Treatments plants to be converted to Waste Transfer Stations to fulfill the requirement for landfill ban compliance. 5.0 IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Policy – The Council’s Waste Strategy will evolve in line with the changes in legislation relating to the landfill ban and circular economy bill. There will be a requirement for the current Biffa contract to be varied to enable works to be undertaken to comply with the landfill ban. The Councils Waste strategy will be updated to reflect any changes. 5.2 Financial – Compliance with the Landfill ban by the end of 2025 will require financial resource from the Council. The Council have set aside £3m in capital funds to support waste management financial pressures and £0.5m as a contribution towards the conversion of the MBT plants at three Biffa sites, to Waste Transfer Stations. In addition, the Scottish Government has committed capital funding of £1.5m to support the authority with compliance of the landfill ban. Costs, where known at this stage are set out in Appendix 1. 5.3 Legal – The existing PPP contract was not designed or written to accommodate the changes at the end of the landfill ban. The contract allows variations to be made although the process is quite cumbersome. There will be legal implications, which will need to be resolved, relating to a contract variation regarding the changes in Biffa’s contract. The outstanding commercial items within the contract are at a mature stage of closure. SEPA advice on landfill site methodology acceptance, CLO, and permit/licensing will inform further legal matters 5.4 HR – HR issues will be addressed prior to and during the process of contract
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handback. Having sufficient resource will factor into the project demands of waste management. TUPE may be relevant at the handback and during the process of progressing to handback should the Council operate the sites themselves. 5.5 Customer Service – None. 5.6 Risk - A refresh of all Waste PPP costs have been undertaken. The costs reflect the previous financial analysis with the only increase being inflationary costs. 5.7 Climate Change - Transitioning from Landfill to Energy from Waste (EfW) would result in a reduction in the annual quantity of Greenhouse Gas generated in Argyll and Bute. Additional road miles incurred taking waste to EfW markets will partly offset the carbon reductions achieved through not landfilling. 5.8 Fairer Scotland Duty - None. 5.9 Equalities –protected characteristics - None. 5.10 Consumer Duty – None. 5.11 Island Communities – There may be potential ferry capacity issues for bulking and transporting waste material from islands, this has been raised with Transport Scotland. 5.12 Children’s Rights and Wellbeing - None arising from this report. Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure: Kirsty Flanagan Policy Lead for Roads, Transport and Amenity Services: Councillor John Armour June 2025 For further information contact: John Blake, Fleet, Waste and Transport Manager Kirsteen MacDonald, Project Manager – Waste APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 – Summary of Waste Sites Progress
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APPENDIX 1 – Summary of Waste Sites Progress Location Status Actions Next steps Estimated Cost Impact Timescale for completion RAG Status Island sites Mull and Islay: waste transfer stations complete and can accommodate general waste and co- mingled waste. All waste material can be accommodated through existing contracts when the landfill ban is implemented, i.e. 1 January 2026 No actions required Assess tender returns Haulage/gate fee costs already factored into the existing budget for 2025/26. Figures can be extrapolated by finance if required for accuracy. Tender will be assessed by 19th June 2025. Anticipate rise in cost due to transport price rises Complete GREEN Coll and Tiree: general waste materials can be accommodated through existing contracts when the landfill ban is implemented, i.e. 1 January 2026 No actions required As above Coll and Tiree already landfill ban compliant therefore no additional costs. General waste already goes to central belt for processing. Haulage tender will be assessed by 19th June 2025. Anticipate rise in cost due to transport price rises Complete GREEN Plans for the closure of landfill sites at Gartbreck, Islay and Glengorm, Mull post 2026 Appoint a consultant to plan for the closure of the operational landfill sites at Gartbreck and Glengorm. Capping In line with other capping off and closure sites, this will form part of the external consultants appraisal on when Capital monies will be required for landfill closure and restoration works post to landfill ban 2026/27/28. £2 m is ballpark estimated from officer discussions. Revised to August 2025 AMBER
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and restoration of sites will be required. Potentially added to SLR contract and how to tender these works Not verified. Not budgeted and noted as a cost pressure Helensburg h and Lomond Complaint solution currently in place with options to extend the contract No actions required for disposal Scope of service to be added to full council area analysis Already budgeted so no impact. Complete GREEN PPP contract – Biffa Sites operating MBT technology instructed to divert material from landfill Biffa instructed to commence pre MBT removal works in letter of intent. This will enable full works to commence as soon as variation to PPP contract agreed. Our expectations of BIFFA will be detailed in the variation documentation Works information to be agreed as part of the PPP variation, then funding authorisation to commence MBT conversions Biffa estimate circa £1.3 - £1.5m but estimate (as at October 2024) not verified. Amount from Scottish Government to assist costs set at £1.5m. Additional £500K is earmarked council capital towards costs 31 December 2025 completion of works for three sites AMBER Instruct Biffa to dispose of the excess of CLO, off site, as per the proposals drafted by Renewi. Biffa to secure resolution from SEPA prior to sign off Ratify advice from SEPA and assess market testing returns with BIFFA. Currently estimate circa £555k - £592K dependent on tonnage etc. Included in 2024-25 outturn and funded from waste earmarked reserves. Decision pending from SEPA as at 29/05/25. RED Closure of Dalinlingart and Route to closure works contracts will Capital monies will be required for landfill closure Post January 2026 AMBER
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Lingerton operational landfill sites will be required. Capping and restoration of sites will be required post landfill ban. Monitoring and environmental management will be required in perpetuity. be determined by preferred option selection followed by scoping of what each site will require and restoration works post to landfill ban 2026/27/28. £3-4 m is ballpark estimated from Biffa from October 2024. Not budgeted and therefore noted as a cost pressure EfW costs will be tendered by BIFFA who have agreed to share bidder submissions to allow ABC to comment/input regarding costing model including gate and haulage fees Information from BIFFA will inform next steps Prices have been asked to include pre-treatment as pre-treatment derogation has not been achieved as yet from SEPA. TBC AMBER Option appraisal ongoing to assess the future operating model post PPP. This will include the options to operate waste transfer stations at Dalinlongart, Lingerton and Present initial option selection and Risk/Options for regulatory and Procurement discussion Initial estimate at £150K. Ongoing from March 2025 as part of the external commission for future operational capacity and capability post PPP AMBER
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Moleigh and also restoration of landfill sites. This is based on being able to achieve realistic and competitive rates/prices and also being compliant with procurement and regulatory legislation. Commission will appraise all council sites including the PPP sites Close down and agree indexation discussions based on advice received from legal services regarding contract obligations. Await SEPA advice and BIFFA action following meeting 25/4/25 £586K agreed and verified. Included in 2024- 25 outturn and funded from waste earmarked reserves. 31 March 2025. Indexation agreed but not signed until CLO matters closed out AMBER Close down and agree contractual requirements relating to Void Space. No longer an issue due to Biffa confirming void space requirements adhered to irrespective of landfill ban Complete Determine what provision would be required and how this Await model decision This can be estimated as soon as council decide what model will be Ongoing until September 2026 RED
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would be delivered in relation to the commercial waste collection requirements contained within the original contract. implemented Continue to progress handback discussions with Biffa Start to scope the workstreams to be delivered within the PPP handback provisions in the contract. SLR has been asked to start this mapping exercise Depends on what route is followed for handback. Linked with ongoing outstanding contractual negotiations and potential contracting model etc Ongoing until September 2026 RED