Scottish businesses are getting better at respecting the law around waste management and pollution, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

The agency’s figures for 2011, published this week, show a slight overall improvement.

87% of operators achieved a licence compliance rating of excellent, good or broadly compliant.

The Compliance Assessment Scheme (CAS) details how well permitted operators in Scotland have met the conditions of their licences and helps SEPA identify problem areas. It covers operators with Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Part A and Part B permits, as well as Waste Management Licenses (WML) and Controlled Activity Regulations (CAR) point source discharges.

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Calum MacDonald, SEPA's Director of Operations, said: "The 2011 Compliance Assessment Scheme results are very encouraging, showing operator compliance continues to improve year on year, and support our ongoing objective to protect and improve Scotland's environment. However, despite this improvement in regulatory efficiency, and a greater proportion of sites achieving satisfactory compliance, the results show that a minority of operators are still not taking their environmental responsibilities seriously. Although we are committed to helping these operators achieve acceptable levels of compliance, we will not tolerate consistent failure at meeting our standards and will not shy away from enforcement action if, or when, necessary."

In June, the owner of a skip hire company in Loanhead was sentenced to 160 hours of community service for burning waste illegally.

(NE)