The negative degradation of the environment as a result of human activities such as disposing of waste into the environment in an unsustainable manner. Around 70% of waste (controlled waste) goes to landfill in Scotland. More effective waste management techniques need to be developed to ensure that waste disposal in the environment is done in a way that does not endanger human health and the environment. Landfill filling contributes substantially to the increase in greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The Council of the European Union, after a series of public consultations with interested parties, passed legislation in 1975 known as the EU Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC). It was amended in 1991 and 2008. It aims to reduce waste going to landfill. employing environmentally friendly alternatives such as waste diversion for recycling, composting and energy recovery. The main objective of the directive is to achieve the set objective of reducing to 75%, 50% and 30% respectively for the target years 2010, 2013 and 2020, the quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) placed in landfill in 1995 (level reference), considering the 4-year extension of the EU for some member states such as the United Kingdom. To achieve this, Scotland is classified into 11 Waste Strategy Area Groups (WSAG) adopting the guidelines set out in the National Waste Strategy. Each WSAG was required to produce a waste area plan for their group's local council in accordance with the best practicable environmental option (BPEO) to develop a national waste plan. This article provides a vivid comparison between two chosen WSAGs, namely; Glasgow and Clyde Valley and Western Isles Area Waste Plans (AWPs). GLASGOW AND CLYDE AREA The Glasgow and Clyde Valley Waste Strategic Area consists of... half of paper... economic development and industrialization are blamed for increased waste in the Glasgow and Clyde Valley area, the Western Isles face the challenge of the remoteness of their area. This makes waste collection more difficult and expensive despite the low tonnages of municipal solid waste compared to the Glasgow area. Also in this case the two areas have a different urban context. The Glasgow area is highly developed and most municipal solid waste comes from domestic and commercial industries. In contrast, municipal solid waste in the Western Islands is mostly generated by fishing activities, which represent the main economic heart of that area. However, both areas have started the development of territorial waste plans, as required by the Directive, in order to increase waste diversion towards recycling and composting and limit waste disposal in landfill in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way. 'environment..