As many as 100 truckloads piled with rubbish will have to travel from Scotland to England each day to be dumped due to a new landfill ban, experts are warning.
The Scottish government is set to bar 'black bag' waste from being buried at landfill sites from this December 31 onwards - but analysts say the country lacks enough incinerators and other facilities to cope with the knock-on effects.
Almost all domestic and commercial waste will be covered by the new restrictions which have been mooted by SNP ministers for years but only now being brought in.
The ban was initially scheduled for 2021, only to be delayed amid the Covid-19 pandemic and warnings firms were not yet ready.
But now critics say there has been insufficient progress in terms of how Scotland will deal with its landfill once the new system sets in - meaning rubbish will have to be diverted to England as well as Scandinavia.
