Tag: environment

Have your say on diesel surcharge

The city council’s consultation on imposing a diesel surcharge on parking permits closes this Sunday (28 January). The council wants to find out the views of people living, working or visiting Edinburgh on the proposal to apply a surcharge on parking permits issued to owners of diesel vehicles.  Have your say …

Through the Council’s Parking Action Plan, we are reviewing parking permits in Edinburgh with the aim to improve air quality and enhance quality of life.

In the past, diesel was considered to be more environmentally-friendly than petrol, as it produces less CO2 per mile. Fuel duty and road tax changed to encourage people to buy diesel cars to cut their carbon footprint. As a result, the number of diesel cars on Britain’s roads increased from around 7% in 1994 to around 40% today.

Internal combustion engines have become cleaner and more efficient in recent years, but diesel vehicles still produce higher emissions of Nitrous Oxides (NOx) and harmful Particulate Matter (PM).

The Councillors who sit on the Transport and Environment Committee have asked us to consult with residents and businesses on a proposal to apply a surcharge on parking permits issued to owners of diesel vehicles.

Some background

Diesel vehicles work best for longer journeys on motorways, but are not well suited to shorter and slower trips in built up areas like Edinburgh’s city centre. There is growing evidence to suggest that diesel engines;

  • contribute to poor air quality
  • increase the risk of lung cancer
  • can cause heart attacks and
  • reduce life expectancy.

Major world cities including Madrid and Mexico City have pledged to ban diesel vehicles and several London Boroughs have already introduced a diesel surcharge on residents’ parking permits.

With an estimated 8,000 diesel permit holders’ vehicles in Edinburgh we need to consider how we can tackle pollution, enhance air quality and improve the health of people living and working in Edinburgh.

Why We Are Consulting

We want to find out the views of people living, working or visiting Edinburgh on the proposal to apply a surcharge on parking permits issued to owners of diesel vehicles.

Give Us Your Views

Online Survey

Saving Our Seas: Scottish Government to consult on plastic cotton bud ban

Plans to introduce legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of plastic stemmed cotton buds have been announced by Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham. The proposals will be put to public consultation and would make Scotland the first country in the UK to legislate against these environmentally damaging items. Continue reading Saving Our Seas: Scottish Government to consult on plastic cotton bud ban

Greenpeace: Britian must turn the tide on throwaway plastic

On the day Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a high-profile speech on the environment to coincide with the publication of Defra’s 25-year plan for nature, Greenpeace UK executive director John Suaven has called for action, not words, to tackle critical environmental challenges. Continue reading Greenpeace: Britian must turn the tide on throwaway plastic

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Prime Minister Theresa May will today pledge to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within a quarter of a century. Launching the 25 Year Environment Plan, the PM will set out the government’s determination to leave our environment in a better state than we found it. Continue reading Theresa going green? PM to announce plans for cleaner, greener Britain

Seasons greetings from Wardie Bay Beachwatch

I am extremely grateful to all of you who came to Wardie Bay this year to help clear it up for the sake of our local creatures & neighbours but also to contribute to the crucial MCS data which we know to be helping the case against marine litter at policy level (writes KAREN BATES). 

Continue reading Seasons greetings from Wardie Bay Beachwatch

One Helluva hangover: clearing up after Britain’s bevviers

Boozing Britain wakes up to recycling headache – 1.5 BILLION bottles of wine!

Britain’s boozers, already amongst the heaviest drinkers in Europe, are responsible for one of industry’s biggest headaches – how to deal with the waste products of both production and consumption. Continue reading One Helluva hangover: clearing up after Britain’s bevviers

Call to ban ALL plastic bottles in the workplace

By banning plastic bottles from the workplace outright, the UK would save 3.9 billion bottles from being produced by 2020 – a saving of 156,000 tonnes of plastic a year. These are the findings of office provider Desk.co.uk who is spearheading a campaign to have all single use plastic bottles outlawed by 2020.  Continue reading Call to ban ALL plastic bottles in the workplace

Communal bin collection service to be overhauled

Edinburgh’s communal bin collection system is set to be redesigned to improve the service for thousands of residents across the city, subject to approval by the city council’s Transport and Environment Committee tomorrow. As part of the shake-up, a trial would see communal landfill and packaging bin collections increased to every other day, as opposed to the current average rate of twice weekly. 

Continue reading Communal bin collection service to be overhauled