A Glasgow councillor has defended the city’s spending on waste processing in England and Northern Ireland.
SNP representative for Shettleston Laura Doherty conceded that recyclables were sometimes sent outside Scotland.
But she said delivering material to specialist facilities outside local authority boundaries was “not unique to Glasgow”.
Labour councillor Stephen Docherty claimed the council was spending £13 million “transporting waste away from the city”. It is understood the latest figure is about £12.8m in 2024/25.
But Doherty insisted: “Glasgow City Council does make use of its own facilities to manage waste wherever possible.
“However, like many major cities, we don’t yet have the full infrastructure required to process every waste stream locally. Some materials require specialist treatment or facilities not yet available within the city boundaries.
“Some recyclables are processed in Northern Ireland and Yorkshire. Decisions are based on cost efficiency, environmental impact and the availability of appropriate treatment facilities.”
She added that a “new state-of-the-art facility” at Easter Queenslie would be operational by 2027 and “significantly increase our ability to process recyclables locally”.
