THE average Scot consumes 18.4 tonnes of materials every year – the equivalent of 50kg per week on average – a new Zero Waste Scotland report reveals.
The analysis by Zero Waste Scotland quantifies Scotland’s material footprint for the first time, and was hailed as an “insightful game-changer” by academics. It shows the materials being extracted from Scotland’s natural environment every year, as well as those which are imported, exported, and wasted.
Zero Waste Scotland said academics agree that a sustainable level of material use, which would still allow for a high quality life about eight tonnes per person per year.
The report, titled The Scottish Material Flow Accounts, lays bare the scale of Scotland’s consumption by calculating all the raw materials including oil and metal ores used to make products and the finished products we consume, whether made in Scotland or imported.
Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said the report shows consumption is "unsustainably high" in Scotland.
"We need a system wide change that enables us all to choose more sustainable ways to live, use the things we need and share resources," he said.
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Kimberley Pratt, Zero Waste Scotland environmental analyst and report author, said: “It is also due to the amounts of materials it takes to extract raw materials and manufacture new products.
"These processes are resource-intensive, but those costs are not obvious when we look only at the finished product. For example, 25 tonnes of iron ore must be mined to produce one tonne of iron which the average Scot might consume as steel in products such as the buildings we live and work in, cars and electrical appliances.
"This highlights the negative environmental impacts of our production processes and consumption habits which favour using new goods made from virgin materials rather than re-used or repaired goods, or goods made from recycled materials or from remanufacturing.”
The evidence of the Scottish MFA shows "there is an inextricable relationship between what Scotland consumes and its global climate impact".
With the current global political agenda focussed on accelerating a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, ahead of COP26 later this year in Glasgow, the report is said to provide a base of evidence to help people rethink consumption.
Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Energy, said it will be a "vital tool".
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