The Edinburgh Remakery, a unique new re-use and repair superstore, is opening it’s doors to the public this weekend. The project aims to reinvent second-hand shopping and repair skills in the city – and you can see ‘remakery’ for yourself tomorrow! Continue reading Making the news: Edinburgh Remakery opens for business
Have residents really learned to love recycling?
Edinburgh has seen recycling rates rise thanks to the success of a new service alongside a focused campaign to increase uptake by the City of Edinburgh Council.
A surge in recycling for households receiving the new kerbside recycling service – rolled out to more than 140,000 homes over the last eighteen months – has seen the amount of waste recycled increase by 29% in 2015/16 compared to 2014/15.
Houses involved in the new service also produced 51% more food waste recycling in 2015/16 than in 2014/15, with the tonnage of food waste collected increasing at each phase of its roll out.
The upturn has contributed to a city-wide drop of 10% in the amount of waste sent to landfill since 2014/15, while the average city-wide rate of recycling has grown by 2.9% over the last year.
Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “I am delighted with these figures, which demonstrate just how effective the new recycling service has been.
“Obviously, updates to the system have been something of a culture change for those involved, but I’m pleased to see that, now it has bedded in, residents are really taking to recycling responsibly and reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill.
“We now want to see a similar uptake across the city’s tenemental and flatted properties, which are served by communal bins, and we are working hard to increase recycling provision and to make facilities as easy to access as possible.”
Over the last six months more than 940 communal dry mixed recycling bins and 617 communal glass bins have been installed on Edinburgh’s streets, with the roll-out of more communal recycling facilities planned for other areas of the city, making it easier for tenemental residents to recycle their waste.
Additionally, an interactive map, due to be launched next month, will help citizens locate communal recycling and landfill bins near their homes.
As well as an increase in on-street recycling provision, other actions aimed at facilitating more recycling over the coming year will include the ongoing audit of recycling resources for communal properties, and the ‘grouping’ of recycling and landfill bins near tenements.
It is hoped that the drive to increase recycling will see the citywide rate rise to 44.4% by the end of this year.
Find out more about recycling on the Council website. Continue reading Recycling rates continue to climb
A social enterprise which repairs and refurbishes mobility equipment for elderly and disabled customers became Scotland’s fiftieth Revolve-certified store last week. Continue reading Fifty up for upcycling projects
Dear Editor
A major problem facing people in Edinburgh is how to dispose of or recycle large unwanted household items. The absence of a free council-run collection service as part of normal recycling leads to the serious issue if dumping.
The scheme currently in place – a charge of £21 to collect up to six items – is unbelievable in it’s lack of understanding people’s ability to pay, or hwo to tackle the problem of disposal if they cannot.
The City of Edinburgh Council must immediately start a free collection service for unwanted household items: this will not only benefit it’s citizens but protect the reputation of Edinburgh as a city worth visiting.
A. Delahoy
Silverknowes Gardens
Sainsbury’s Blackhall is providing an in-store Christmas card recycling service to support the Forest Stewardship Council® UK (FSC® UK) to help protect the world’s forests. Continue reading Still time to recycle your Christmas cards at Sainsburys Blackhall
For the majority of Edinburgh households there will be no change to collection dates for green wheelie bins, food waste bins and red and blue boxes over the festive period.
However, there will be no collections on CHRISTMAS DAY (Friday 25 December) or NEW YEAR’S DAY (Friday 1 January).
Collections for households whose bins or recycling boxes were due to be picked up on these dates have been rescheduled for Saturday 26 December and Saturday 2 January respectively.
Residents are reminded that bins and boxes must be on the kerbside by 6am ready for collection.
There will be no special uplifts between Tuesday 24 December and Tuesday 5 January. Normal service will resume on Wednesday 6 January.
All information about festive collections has been added to the Council’s website where residents can check collection dates for bins and Christmas trees, and report missed bins.
Christmas Tree recycling
Residents will once again be able to recycle their real Christmas trees at the kerbside this year, no matter where they live.
Those with a brown bin should chop up their Christmas tree and place it inside their bin on the kerbside by 6am on their next garden waste collection day (collection days can be checked on the city council website).
Residents in communal areas that use on street shared bins can put their tree on the pavement outside their property on designated collection dates during January – check the website to see when collectiions are taking place in your area. Trees over 6ft tall should be cut in half first.
To enable trees to be recycled, residents are reminded:
– To remove all decorations from the Christmas tree
– To remove stands from trees
– To please cut the tree if is 6ft tall or more
– Not to place trees in plastic bags, as this means they cannot be recycled
You can also take Christmas trees to any of the Community Recycling Centres. The sites will be closed 25, 26 December and 1, 2 January.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, said: “I’m delighted that thanks to all staff working together to deliver the service that, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Years Day, we are able to run all our waste and recycling collections as normal during the festive period.
“It’s important not to forget about recycling at this time of year, especially as we produce so much waste. You would be amazed at how much stuff we use at this time of year that is recyclable, like cardboard and wrapping paper, so please take advantage of our recycling facilities as much as you can.
“Whether they put their tree out with their brown bin, leave it out for collection in communal bin areas on designated days or take it to a Community Recycling Centre, people can make sure that their real Christmas tree is recycled once the festive season is over.
” It’s never been easier to check information or report things online so I would remind you to check our website over the festive period for any possible changes to collections if the weather is bad or for information on recycling.”
Waste and recycling collections may be subject to change in the event of severe weather. For more information on what to do if services are disrupted due to bad weather, visit the city council’s severe weather pages.
Calendars online for 2016 collections
There are no changes to the 2016 collections. The new bin calendar is on the city council’s bin collection day page now.
An exciting new project is coming to North Edinburgh Arts next week …
The Otesha Project UK
Invites you to come and see the Otesha UK cycling and performing extravaganza this summer at North Edinburgh Arts.
Get involved as they collect ideas on how to create a better world – from composting to clothes swapping!
The Otesha Project is a mobile community of young people who are spending three weeks cycling through Scotland visiting schools, youth clubs and communities to perform the magnificent Otesha UK Play, and running workshops about how global issues meet everyday lives.
They won’t be counting carbon. They will, however, be having a brilliant time discovering how to live in a way that makes good things happen without harming others or the planet.And they invite YOU to do it with them and help them to do it better.
Book your FREE space now:
0131 315 2151
admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk
Sainsbury’s stores across Edinburgh are trialling recycling banks for cooking oils. The trail launched on 20 May with the aim to encourage customers to recycle, whilst also saving their kitchen sink from blockages often caused when oils are poured down the drain.
In partnership with Olleco, Scottish Water and Zero Waste Scotland, customers can simply deposit household cooking waste including vegetable oil, animal fat and lard in a plastic bottle at the recycling banks located in Sainsbury’s car parks. From there the oils are collected by Olleco and taken to their recycling plant to be made into biodiesel.
Paul Crewe, Head of Sustainability at Sainsbury’s, said: “Cooking oils probably aren’t the first thing you’d think of recycling however it’s a great way of keeping your drains clear and putting waste to a good use. This is an exciting trial that adds to the recycling our customers already get involved in, including clothing, and even Christmas cards! The recycling banks are really easy to use so we hope customers across Edinburgh and the surrounding area get involved in the trial.”
The trial has been welcomed by Scottish Water, as this links to their Cycle campaign which aims to highlight simple steps to prevent blocked pipes.
Trade waste bins will be removed from Edinburgh’s streets as part of a citywide scheme which will begin rolling out in April. Businesses will no longer be permitted to permanently store their waste containers in public and will be required to present rubbish and recycling during timed collection windows.
The initiative, which aims to improve the appearance of the capital’s streets, has been trialled in a number of city centre locations over the last year. Participating streets Rose Street (and its lanes), Leith Walk and High Street experienced, on average, an 81% drop in the number of bins permanently outside business properties.
Now the policy will be introduced to traders across the city on a phased basis, beginning in April with around 5000 businesses in the city centre. This will be followed by areas like Leith, Southside, Fountainbridge and Portobello.
Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “Keeping the city clean and attractive will benefit residents, visitors and businesses alike, and removing unsightly trade waste bins from the streets is one big step towards achieving this.
“It is extremely encouraging to see such positive results from the pilot areas, and there is no doubt the scheme will continue having an impact on our environment as it rolls out across the city.”
After being approved by councillors in October 2013, the Trade Waste pilot was introduced to trial areas between January and March 2014, and has since seen bin numbers reduced from 390 to 103 on Rose Street, 116 to 12 on Leith Walk and 37 to eight on High Street.
Throughout the process, officers have worked with businesses to ensure compliance with collection windows, which were agreed after consultation on suitability, and to address difficulties over storage space, timing and cooperation from trade waste companies.
Gordon Minnis, owner of Rose Street North Lane restaurant Calistoga, is delighted with the impact of the Rose Street trial (before and after, above). He said: “The lane looks a lot smarter with only a dozen or so small bins whereas before there were over 40 large containers. It’s also led to a reduction in litter and fly-tipping.
“Our customers are delighted as they have a much better view when dining and don’t need to navigate their way round large waste containers to get to our restaurant.”
Andrew Watson, owner of the Princes Street franchise of McDonald’s, was also part of the Rose Street lanes trial. He said: “The overall cost of the process is more or less the same as it was before, only now it’s much easier to manage and looks a lot better on the street. My city centre store is in such an iconic location, sitting in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, that keeping the streets around the stores clean and tidy is hugely important to the business.”
As the scheme is rolled out, Environmental Wardens will continue to support behaviour change, helping businesses to adapt and ensuring enforcement, in order to gain the maximum benefit.
Businesses will receive letters to inform them when the changes are being introduced to their area.
Find out more about the Trade Waste pilot on the Council website, including guidance, a map of phase one and more case studies.
Recycling will be made easier for people living in tenements and flats around Edinburgh as part of two pilots launching next month. Streets involved will see the capacity for recycling increased, as well as the range of materials that can be recycled expanded.
