Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption The amount of household waste generated was higher than last year - but less went to landfill

The amount of rubbish sent to landfill has fallen below 50% for the first time, figures have shown.

Household waste of almost 2.5 million tonnes was generated in 2014 - a rise of 1.9% on the previous year.

But the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) figures showed 49.3% of that rubbish was sent to landfill, down from 53.5% in 2013.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the drop was a "significant milestone".

"In 2007, almost two-thirds of Scotland's household waste ended up in landfill, so today's figures are great news for the environment and highlight the progress being made," he said.

Across Scotland, the proportion of rubbish that was sent for recycling increased slightly, going from 42.2% in 2013 to 42.8% last year.

Twenty of Scotland's 32 councils did not send half their rubbish or more for recycling, with the Shetland Islands recycling 9% compared to 56.8% in Inverclyde. However, Shetland diverted almost 70% of its waste away from landfill.

Disposing of waste diverted from landfill includes methods such as incineration and composting.

'Set a benchmark'

There was also a wide variation in the percentage of waste which councils sent to landfill, ranging from 6.9% in Dundee to 73.4% in Glasgow.

Mr Lochhead said the 12 councils to have met or exceeded 50% recycling, or substantially improved their performance, were to be "congratulated".

"They have set a benchmark and other authorities must now follow that lead," he said.

Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: "It's great that our national recycling rate continues to rise and that our reliance on landfill is at an all-time low.

"The amount of food waste being recycled has doubled since 2011, showing that many householders have embraced the addition of food waste recycling to their collection services."