Microbiologists take steps to reducing plastic waste
“Everyone can make a difference!” urge microbiologists after developing a new approach that could reduce their laboratory’s plastic waste by over 500kg a year.
The group, based at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, developed an approach to reduce plastic waste produced by their lab. They have shared their approach in the journal Access Microbiology, with the hope that other labs will follow suit.
Led by Dr Amy Pickering (no relation – Ed.), the lab replaced single-use plastics with re-useable equipment. Where alternatives were not available, the group decontaminated and re-used plastic equipment which would have usually been thrown away after one use.
“We knew that we were using plastic daily in our research, but it wasn’t until we took the time to quantify the waste that the volumes being used really hit home. That really emphasized the need for us to introduce plastic reducing measures,” said Dr Pickering.
The lab developed a new scheme which focused on sustainability, moving away from the use of single-use plastics wherever possible. In some cases, the research group would use reusable wooden or metal items instead of plastic.
If there were no alternatives, the group focused on reusing plastic equipment by chemically decontaminating the plastic tubes before a second level of decontamination under heat and pressure – known as autoclaving.
To determine the success of the scheme, the lab of seven researchers spent four weeks documenting the plastic waste produced in regular conditions. They then measured the amount of waste produced over the next seven weeks with new processes to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic.
Dr. Pickering said: “Once the measures were in place it was quickly clear that large impacts were being seen. The most surprising thing for us was how resilient some plastics are to being autoclaved and therefore how many times they can be re-used. This means that we were able to save more plastic than we originally anticipated.”
In implementing these replace and reuse practises, 1670 tubes and 1300 loops were saved during a four-week period. This led to a 43-kilogram reduction in waste.
The typical microbiology laboratory uses mostly disposable plastic, which is often not recycled due to biological contamination. In 2014, 5.5 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated in research laboratories worldwide. The Edinburgh lab works with dangerous disease-causing bacteria, due to the dangers of contamination, their waste must be autoclaved and incinerated at a high environmental and monetary cost.
Practices to reduce plastic waste in research labs is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with researchers from the University of York decontaminating and re-using plastic flasks and researchers from a chemistry lab in Edinburgh recycling 1 million plastic gloves in 2019.
“It’s important to take some time identifying what plastic items you are using the most. This will allow you to identify both the easy wins, such as replacing plastic inoculation loops for re-useable metal ones, as well as the bigger tasks, such as re-using plastic tubes. That will help you to bring others on board and build momentum,” added Dr Pickering.
The new protocols not only prevent plastic waste, but also save money according to Dr Pickering: “Over a 3-month period of implementing the protocols we will have saved over £400 of plastic tubes, inoculation loops, and cuvettes” she said.
Morrisons has removed glitter entirely from its own-brand ranges of greetings cards, gift wrap, seasonal items and horticulture in stores.
This means all Morrisons cards, crackers, wrapping paper, present bags, flowers, plants and wreaths are now 100 per cent glitter-free. Glitter is made from tiny particles of plastic and is an ecological hazard if it becomes dispersed on land, rivers and oceans – where it takes hundreds of years to degrade.
The move extends to non-seasonal as well as seasonal lines meaning Morrisons shoppers can shop more sustainably all year round. Soluble inks, foil and paper reliefs will instead be used to decorate Morrisons FSC certified paper cards, wrap and bags to give them a festive feel.
Morrisons has also removed all plastic toys from its Christmas crackers, which will be completely plastic-free this year.
All contents – such as games and gifts – will now be made out of paper, metal or wood and are designed to be kept and reused. The cracker shells will be made from FSC accredited cardboard and decorated with a metallic basked ink – which means they can be recycled at kerbside, along with their packaging.
In a further move to make Christmas more sustainable, Morrisons has also reduced the amount of plastic packaging on cards and decorations. The majority of Morrisons cards will come boxed in recyclable cardboard and 100 per cent of packaging on cards and decorations can be easily recycled by local authorities.
The supermarket is also introducing a wide range of ‘no plastic’ felt, hessian and wooden Christmas decorations.
The move to ban glitter and reduce plastic in Christmas ranges means that Morrisons will be removing more than 50 tonnes of plastic from its shelves during the festive period, and more across non-seasonal lines all year round.
Christine Bryce, Morrisons Home Director. said:“Every time a cracker is pulled, or a card is opened, plastics have been used…but just the once. So, we’ve taken glitter and plastic out of our festive range this year – so that our customers can enjoy their festivities without worrying about the environmental impact.
“This means that we’re now 100 per cent glitter free across all our own brand ranges which is an important step in the fight against plastic pollution.”
Morrisons glitter-free Christmas cards are in store now. Crackers, decorations, wrapping paper and gift bags will be appearing on shelves throughout October and November.
In May, Morrisons increased its target to reduce own-brand plastic packaging from 25% to 50% by 2025.
A summer of learning, celebrating and caring for Portobello Beach has come to a close, as environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful reports on its My Beach, Your Beach campaign.
Launched in mid-July, just as we were easing out of lockdown, the campaign aimed to help improve water quality at six of Scotland’s well-loved beaches through targeted interventions to encourage better attitudes and behaviours.
Now, as we look to the autumn and winter, it is heartening to see that despite 57% of people thinking dog poo is an issue and 35% believing litter is an issue at Portobello Beach, 66% of those surveyed in the area have said they are willing to pick up litter when visiting the beach to leave it cleaner than they found it.
The successful campaign raised awareness of the potential impact on bathing water quality by dog fouling and encouraging gulls by feeding and leaving litter.
The third year of the My Beach Your Beach campaign was a little bit different – extending it to two more great beaches, Irvine and Troon – and also taking community engagement online in the face of lockdown measures, to encourage those who live locally to get involved and celebrate their beach.
Campaign messaging appeared on the bins along the promenade, encouraging people to dispose of waste responsibly.
This was supported by anthe interactive online programme aiming to celebrate and engage people with their local beach, through information about local environment, landscape and heritage, quizzes, photo galleries and a virtual ‘Doggy Ambassador’ competition, reaching nearly 10,000 people.
Although impact monitoring was not possible this year, 90% of locals surveyed had seen at least one campaign message and 83% said that they would like to see more campaign activity like this in the future. Last year, the campaign achieved a 53% reduction in litter as compared to the previous year and a 40% reduction in dog poo too.
Paul Wallace, Campaigns and Innovation Manager at Keep Scotland Beautiful,said: “We know that, in many cases, people only need a small nudge to do the right thing and take better care of their local environment.
“This summer, our local neighbourhoods became even more precious to many of us. For those #LuckyToLiveHere by the beach, the unprecedented pressures of more people taking holidays and day trips in Scotland, consuming more single-use items and take-away food and using limited services, such as toilets and bins, were felt.
“We’re grateful to both council staff and members of local community groups like Keep Porty Tidy, Friends of Porty Prom and Portobello Timebank for working to keep the beach clean for everyone to enjoy and are delighted to find that, following following this summer’s campaign, over 60% of people from communities locally have shown an interest in picking up litter at Portobello beach when they visit, to leave it cleaner than they found it.
“Cleaner sands can lead to cleaner seas – a win, win for our beach environments and communities.”
Cllr Lesley Macinnes, city council Environment Convener,said: “Our beaches and other open spaces have been so important for people to enjoy in recent months as we’ve all had to adapt to the coronavirus restrictions.
“It’s really important then that we look after them and keep them clean and tidy for everyone to enjoy. This campaign has been really helpful in supporting the hard work of our waste services department getting across that message and celebrating Portobello.”
The campaign, funded by the Scottish Government and supported by SEPA, was led by Keep Scotland Beautiful alongside its Upstream Battle and Clean Up Scotland campaigns and annual Beach Awards.
All six of the beaches selected for this campaign have faced challenges in improving the quality of their bathing water as measured by SEPA, and research confirms a significant link between behaviour on the land and the cleanliness of the local seawater.
Thirty-four of Edinburgh’s parks have achieved Green Flags in the 2020 national competition, which recognises high quality green spaces.
The city received almost half of the 77 flags issued in Scotland. Two city parks, Saughton Park and St Katharine’s Park, received the status for the first time in 2020, joining the other 32 parks already waving their Green Flag.
The Green Flag Award is the UK’s national standard for parks and green spaces and is administered in Scotland by Keep Scotland Beautiful. To make sure the Capital’s parks are kept to a high standard, each year the Council checks all its parks and gardens using Green Flag Award criteria. This inspection is carried out by formal Green Flag judges along with other Council officers, Council partners and members of the public. From this assessment, each park is given a parks quality score.
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Donald Wilson, said: “The awards are given to those parks that give everyone access to a safe, clean and pleasant green space where they can relax, play and exercise and I’m delighted that so many of our parks have achieved this important and much sought after recognition.
“The quality of Edinburgh’s parks continues to improve in spite of these challenging times. I am very proud of all our award winning parks and of those who work all year round, and in all weather to keep our parks beautiful.”
Culture and Communities Vice Convener, Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, said: “This is fantastic news, parks have proved to be real havens this year and my thanks to our hardworking parks staff for their continued care for our much-loved parks through challenging times. My thanks also to dedicated Friends of Parks groups for everything they do. I would encourage everyone to explore our parks this Autumn.”
The Council has been taking part in the Green Flag Award scheme since 2007, when two Green Flags were achieved.
We have been working hard to help generate support for this important cause for both recreational users and marine life. We would love if you could please read, sign and share our petition, which achieved 1,000 signatures in its first four days.
Please support our campaign film
#WardieBay4BathingWater
We are also making a film, working with videographer, Carlos Hernan. We would like to pay him a professional fee for supporting us in these difficult times. Please click here for information.
Plans to ban some of the most environmentally damaging single-use plastic items in Scotland, including plastic cutlery and plastic straws, have been published for consultation.
The Scottish Government is seeking views on the introduction of new legislation to restrict the sale or commercial supply of plastic plates, plastic straws, plastic cutlery, polystyrene food and drink containers, plastic balloon sticks and products made from oxo-degradable plastics.
These items are the ones most commonly found washed up on European beaches and were identified in the EU Single Plastics Directive as contributing the majority share of litter found in the marine environment.
Millions are used in Scotland each year, including an estimated 300 million plastic straws, 276 million pieces of plastic cutlery, 50 million plastic plates and 66 million polystyrene food containers.
Restrictions on the sale or commercial supply of these single use plastic products would support efforts to tackle Scotland’s throwaway culture, reduce problematic litter and promote the use of more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “There is no longer any doubt that plastic waste is having a hugely damaging impact on our oceans, rivers and land ecosystems.
“We must act now to reduce our reliance on single-use plastic and drive forward a move towards more sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternatives.
“Failure to do so is a dereliction of our duty to our children, who will inherit a natural world polluted by the plastics we have thrown away for the sake of convenience.
“This government is committed to tackling this problem. We were the first country in the UK to ban plastic-stemmed cotton buds and plans are well underway for a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland.
“The proposals published today will take us further – keeping pace with the environmental standards of our European partners and re-affirming our position as a world-leader in the circular economy.
“However, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that the introduction of these measures is carefully considered. It is why we are keen to hear a range of views and I would encourage any individual, business or organisation with an interest to respond to the consultation.”
It is expected that any legislation would be introduced in 2021. The consultation will also seek views on the introduction of a ban on the non-commercial supply and manufacture of the single-use plastic items outlined in the consultation.
Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Plastic is by far the most commonly used material in today’s single-use culture. There are clear benefits in use, of flexibility and durability, but plastic also causes significant damage when it leaks into our natural environment, including our rivers, lochs and seas.
“The consultation offers an opportunity to protect wildlife and prevent the heart-breaking scenes we see all too often in TV documentaries like Blue Planet 2. We hope people will also take this opportunity to adopt more sustainable solutions, such as reusable alternatives, to these single-use items.”
View the consultation on Citizen Space. The consultation will be open for 12 weeks and close on 04 January 2021 .
The full list of products being considered for market restrictions are:
Single-use food containers made of expanded polystyrene
Single-use cups and other beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their covers and lids
All oxo-degradable products. This type of plastic (due to additives contained in it) contributes to micro-plastic pollution in the environment, is not compostable and negatively affects the recycling of conventional plastic.
Restricting these items would bring Scotland in line with Article 5 of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904.
Plans to transform Meadowbank into one of Edinburgh’s greenest neighbourhoods were approved by councillors last week.
Shaped in response to views shared by local residents – who were keen to see more quality greenspace, places for play and better-connected walking and cycle routes brought to the area – the masterplan for Council-owned land at Meadowbank was approved by the Development Management Sub Committee on Wednesday.
The £100m project is now expected to become the first development of its size in Edinburgh to promote the Council’s net zero carbon by 2030 goals by creating a low-car, low-carbon community and energy efficient new homes.
The sustainable mixed-use development will also create jobs and a significant economic boost by regenerating a five-hectare area next to the new Meadowbank Sports Centre – which is already set to become one of the greenest and most accessible centres for community sport in the country when it opens next year.
Space for a new GP surgery and community and commercial uses, the protection of existing trees and planting of saplings plus new rain gardens also feature in landscaping designs, which aim to pay tribute to the area’s sporting and industrial heritage.
With support from Nature Scot and the Scottish Government, the Masterplan has been awarded Building with Nature accreditation, setting the standard for high-quality low carbon features, and the Council has undertaken studies on the option for ‘green roofs’. The designs have also been endorsed by Sustrans’ Places for Everyone scheme, which brings specialised active travel knowledge to the project.
Councillor Neil Gardiner, Planning Convener, said: “As a planning authority, we need make sure we protect our City’s beautiful and historic built environment, while supporting our communities to become sustainable for twenty-first century living.
“We also need to adapt our city to meet the needs of a growing population, address the increasing impact of climate change and ensure growth is responsible. These designs for Meadowbank meet these needs with plans for a truly low-carbon, low-car, energy efficient neighbourhood, featuring new affordable homes. This is a really important site for the City and I’d like to thank everyone who took time to participate in the consultation process.
“The masterplan includes homes to meet different needs, including for families. One third of the houses will be affordable, making a welcome contribution to the needs of the heroes who keep our city running every day. This masterplan, which has broad community support, offers a gold standard for new developments across the city for both the public and private sectors.”
Councillor Maureen Child, Vice Planning Convener, said: “Our aspirations for place making through our new City Plan, which we are currently drafting, are about making sure our communities continue to be great places where people want to live and visit, so feedback from the local community has been key to shaping Committee’s decision making on Meadowbank.
“I’m pleased that an open conversation has been had and that we’ve been able to agree these ambitious plans, which offer a mix of community benefits and improved facilities. It will see the community evolve into a more connected and climate conscious community, in line with our net zero carbon targets.”
Keir Bloomer, the project’s independent Sounding Board Chair, said: “The current proposals have emerged through an intensive exercise in community engagement. In addition to a number of public information sessions and consultation meetings, a Meadowbank Sounding Board was established almost two years ago.
“This group contains representatives of a wide range of local community groups and organisations, including those who were opposed to the original proposals for the site. Local councillors and others with relevant committee responsibilities are also members but they are in a minority.
“Considerable efforts have been made to ensure that the sounding board is able to express its views, regardless of whether these are favourable to the Council’s perspective or not. I was asked to chair the group as somebody who is completely independent.
“The sounding board met quite frequently until restrictions during the pandemic made this impossible. Designs for the site have been altered on a number of occasions in response to its views. As a result, the current plans are greener and more open. Housing density has been reduced and designs improved. It is intended that the sounding board will continue in existence through the development phase, acting as a strong voice for local people.”
Cathy Houston, Project Architect at Collective Architecture, said: “We are grateful for the time taken by members of the community to engage in the Meadowbank design processes.
“This is such an important site in Edinburgh’s City Centre and so it is wonderful to be at this stage with a multifaceted proposal which seeks to enrich the neighbourhood on many levels: ecologically, environmentally, socially and with a huge amount of care.
“The process undertaken with the community has ensured that the development sensitively integrates new housing, local amenities, greenspace and restored public routes east to west.”
Brenda Devlin, a local Community Councillor, said: “Using the expertise of Collective Architecture and the City of Edinburgh Council, local consultations, focus groups, workshops and public meetings were organised.
“It became obvious that the participants that attended these events were being listened to and their suggestions and ideas taken on board. The plans now being presented are a result of these consultation sessions and mostly reflect the vision of local residents, groups, organisations and businesses.
“The creation of a Sounding Board provided another opportunity for further targeted local input and a place for checks and balances to be carried out on the final plans. This eco-friendly development with a mixture of housing types, quality green spaces and community facilities makes this a very exciting development and will be an asset to our area.”
Around 600 modern energy-efficient homes – a minimum of 35% of which will be affordable – are detailed in the planning application, which is available to view as a report to Committee.
More information is available at ww.edinburgh.gov.uk/meadowbank.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out new plans to Build Back Greener by making the UK the world leader in clean wind energy – creating jobs, slashing carbon emissions and boosting exports.
£160 million will be made available to upgrade ports and infrastructure across communities like in Teesside and Humber in Northern England, Scotland and Wales to hugely increase our offshore wind capacity, which is already the largest in the world and currently meets 10 per cent of our electricity demand.
This new investment will see around 2,000 construction jobs rapidly created and will enable the sector to support up to 60,000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2030 in ports, factories and the supply chains, manufacturing the next-generation of offshore wind turbines and delivering clean energy to the UK.
Through this, UK businesses including smaller suppliers will be well-placed to win orders and further investment from energy companies around the world and increase their competitive standing on the global stage, as well as supporting low-carbon supply chains.
The Prime Minister has also set out further commitments to ensure that, within the decade, the UK will be at the forefront of the green industrial revolution as we accelerate our progress towards net zero emissions by 2050.
These include:
Confirming offshore wind will produce more than enough electricity to power every home in the country by 2030, based on current electricity usage, boosting the government’s previous 30GW target to 40GW.
Creating a new target for floating offshore wind to deliver 1GW of energy by 2030, which is over 15 times the current volumes worldwide. Building on the strengths of our North Sea, this brand new technology allows windfarms to be built further out to sea in deeper waters, boosting capacity even further where winds are strongest and ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of the next generation of clean energy.
Setting a target to support up to double the capacity of renewable energy in the next Contracts for Difference auction, which will open in late 2021 – providing enough clean, low cost energy to power up to 10 million homes
These commitments are the first stage outlined as part of the Prime Minister’s ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution, which will be set out fully later this year. This is expected to include ambitious targets and major investment into industries, innovation and infrastructure that will accelerate the UK’s path to net zero by 2050.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Our seas hold immense potential to power our homes and communities with low-cost green energy and we are already leading the way in harnessing its strengths.
“Now, as we build back better we must build back greener. So we are committing to new ambitious targets and investment into wind power to accelerate our progress towards net zero emissions by 2050.
“This sets us on our path towards a green industrial revolution, which will provide tens of thousands of highly-skilled jobs.”
Together with planned stringent requirements on supporting UK manufacturers in Government-backed renewables projects, these measures will mean the industry can reach its target of 60% of offshore wind farm content coming from the UK.
Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma said: “The offshore wind sector is a major British success story, providing cheap, green electricity while supporting thousands of good-quality jobs.
“Powering every home in the country through offshore wind is hugely ambitious, but it’s exactly this kind of ambition which will mean we can build back greener and reach net zero emissions by 2050.”
Today’s announcement marks the latest stage of the UK Government’s support for renewable energy. Last September the third round of the Contracts for Difference renewable energy auction delivered record-low prices on enough clean energy to power 7 million homes. Earlier this year the Government announced the next round would be open to onshore wind and solar projects for the first time since 2015.
The UK has the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, with around 10GW in operation off its coasts.
The Government’s plan for renewable energy forms part of wider efforts to ensure the UK meets its legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and build back greener from coronavirus.
Over the past decade, the UK has cut carbon emissions by more than any similar developed country. In 2019, UK emissions were 42 per cent lower than in 1990, while our economy over the same period grew by 72 per cent.
Hugh McNeal, CEO of RenewableUK, said: “The Government has raised the ambition for offshore wind and renewables, and our industry is ready to meet the challenge. A green recovery with renewables at its heart will be good for consumers and jobs, as well as helping to meet our 2050 net zero emissions target.
“Support for new floating wind projects will ensure the UK stays at the forefront of global innovation in renewables, and provides new opportunities in the low carbon transition.”
Energy UK’s Chief Executive, Emma Pinchbeck, commented: “The UK’s power sector has reduced emissions by nearly 70%, but we know we need to go further and faster on the road to Net Zero. The energy industry will work with Government to turn our world-leading low carbon power sector into a Green Recovery for the whole economy.
“The package of support for offshore and floating wind announced by the Prime Minister today takes a UK decarbonisation success story and winds it up to a scale fit for the Green Recovery, creating jobs and billions of pounds of investment.
“We need to build back better for the environment, for the economy and for communities. We look forward to the Prime Minister’s ten-point plan for the low carbon industrial revolution, later this autumn.”
Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower said: “These bold ambitions and clear targets are exactly the right signals at exactly the right time. They will encourage long-term investment and innovation from the renewables industry – and they will boost employment and economic benefits right across the UK.
“ScottishPower is committed to doubling down on our commitments to delivering 100% clean green energy that matches the UK’s aim to cut emissions for every home.”
Benj Sykes, Industry Chair of OWIC, said: “Offshore wind is on track to become the backbone of Britain’s electricity system, providing reliable, low-cost clean power to homes and businesses across the country.
“The industry is investing tens of billions of pounds in new offshore wind projects, supporting local economies and employment in communities across the UK. Our global leadership in offshore wind, coupled with new support for investment in ports, will help unlock the huge opportunity for the UK to build a world-leading, competitive supply chain.”
Alistair Phillips-Davies, CEO of SSE said: “We welcome today’s announcement which will help ensure that more low cost offshore wind can be deployed before 2030, creating green jobs and putting the UK on the right path to net zero.
“This complements SSE’s own plans to invest over £7.5 billion in low carbon infrastructure over the next five years, including building the largest offshore wind farm in the world at Dogger Bank with Equinor.”
As part of its commitment to supporting local communities to tackle local litter issues, environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful is creating 20 new litter picking hubs across Scotland by providing free litter picking equipment that will be available for individuals and groups to borrow, following strict social distancing and safety guidance.
In Edinburgh, the Sustainability Committee at the Western General Hospital will receive a kit, making the group the first hub in the Edinburgh area.
You can contact the local hub by email at ECRF.sustainability@ed.ac.uk
The 20 community groups from across the country are the second collection of litter picking hubs established in Scotland, following eleven created last month.
Through these hubs, Keep Scotland Beautiful is striving to empower communities who are frustrated by litter which worsened during lockdown and over the summer.
Polling commissioned by Keep Scotland Beautiful in June shows that 30% of people think that litter has got worse in their local area during lockdown.
Barry Fisher, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful, commented: “During lockdown, many of us spent time enjoying our local parks and green spaces.
“Lockdown showed us how important these areas are to our health and well-being. Unfortunately, a minority of people have behaved in an irresponsible and selfish manner, dropping their rubbish, leaving it for others to clean up and spoiling our beautiful country.
By using the litter picking hubs, people will be able to tackle litter in the areas they care about and help Clean Up Scotland.”
The funding for these Helping Hands litter kits has been provided by Zero Waste Scotland, and will see kits containing ten litter pickers, gloves, bag hoops and hi vis vests to allow people to take part in either individual or two household litter picks.
The community groups will also be able to access posters and social media content to help encourage people to look after their local places and keep Scotland beautiful.
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said:“Litter has no place in a circular economy. Discarding resources like plastic, metal and glass not only blights our communities, it also wastes valuable materials that should be being kept in use for as long as possible.
“Whether it has been our local streets, parks, woodland, countryside or coastline, recent months have highlighted how valuable our environment is to so many of us and why it needs to be kept that way.
“It is a shame these are needed, but the litter picking hubs will give communities the opportunity to tackle the nuisance of litter and ensure the areas they love can continue to look their best.”
