Tag: Zero Waste Scotland

I’m dreaming of … a waste-free Christmas

Donate, don’t cremate!

Edinburgh residents are being urged to avoid the bonfire and send their unwanted furniture to a new home this season.

zero-waste-scotland-re-use-image

In Scotland more than 125,000 sofas are thrown away each year and end up in landfill. The rest – just 15% – are re-used. With Guy Fawkes’ celebrations just around the corner, Zero Waste Scotland is calling on Edinburgh residents to help boost that figure and give their goods a new lease of life simply by contacting the Re-use Line.

Created by Zero Waste Scotland, the initiative allows householders to arrange for large re-usable items, such as dining tables and sofas, to be collected, free of charge, and used by someone else. This reduces the amount of furniture that needlessly ends up in landfill – or on November bonfires – by making it easy, free and convenient to donate it instead.

Andrew Pankhurst, Re-use Campaigns Manager at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “More than 7,500 items have been donated via the Re-use Line since it was established in 2014, which is fantastic news for Scotland both environmentally and socially. The figures around re-use are staggering. The re-use of sofas saved from landfill each year contributes around £1.5million to the Scottish economy through sales and employment, and the carbon emissions prevented by re-using is equivalent to taking 682 cars off the road.

“There used to be a huge amount of hassle involved in disposing of unwanted furniture but the Re-use Line is a free, efficient solution. Its impressive uptake within just two years clearly shows it has been welcomed by householders and it’s doing its bit for local communities by supporting jobs and providing items for people in need.”

Householders can donate via the Re-use Line online anytime at www.reusephoneline.com, or by phone on 0800 0665 820 from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. An answerphone service is available at weekends.

Common items picked up by the service include sofas, chairs, tables, wardrobes, white goods and beds that are in good condition. Zero Waste Scotland advises householders that sofas and armchairs must have their fire tags still in place to comply with regulations around re-sale, and to ensure items are not broken or damaged.

Many items picked up are sent to second hand stores which are accredited as Revolve stores, a quality standard for second hand shops that meet high standards and levels of customer service.

Encouraging greater re-use of items is a key part of Zero Waste Scotland’s work on creating a circular economy, where products and materials stay in the highest value state for as long as possible.

The Re-use Line is funded by the Resource Efficient Circular Economy Accelerator Programme Fund, which is administered by Zero Waste Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. It is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).The Re-use Line is funded by the Resource Efficient Circular Economy Accelerator Programme Fund, which is administered by Zero Waste Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. It is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Bonfire, Muirhouse Green

 

 

Search is on for record-breaking recyclers

Scots aim for recycling world record as part of a national week of action

recycle

Zero Waste Scotland is calling on competitive Scots to take part in an attempt to set an official Guinness World Record for recycling, as part of a national week to encourage people to recycle more things, more often.

The record attempt – which will be for the fastest sort of 200 mixed items into recycling containers – is one of a whole host of action and events taking place across Scotland during Recycle Week, from 12 – 18 September.

Recycle Week encourages people to get savvy with their waste and find out how they can pick up and perfect their recycling habits.

Scotland’s household recycling rate is almost 43%, which is a great achievement, but we need to do more to reach the national target of recycling 70% by 2025.  By recycling properly, Scots are saving money, helping create jobs, conserving energy and protecting Scotland’s natural environment.

The record attempt, open to the public, will take place at St Enoch Centre in Glasgow on Saturday, 10 September.  Further events throughout the country can be found at recycleforscotland.com

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “After medals and records galore at Rio’s Olympics, we decided that this Recycle Week we wanted to give Scots the opportunity to be recycling record breakers. By being the best recyclers we can, we help to preserve Scotland’s environment, tackle climate change and help our economy. Recycle Week is a chance for everyone to brush up on recycling and find out how else they can do their bit.”

Recycle Week 2016 – Top Tips

• Empty shampoo bottles, aerosol cans, toothpaste boxes and toilet rolls can all be recycled, so make sure to include a small recycling bin or bag in your bathroom.
• If you are not sure what can be recycled in your area use the postcode locator on the recycle for Scotland website to find out what you can recycle www.recycleforscotland.org.uk
• Have a clear out and make sure your unloved, working items go to good use (your local recycling centre can help or call the national Re-use line on 0800 0665 820 to have large re-usable items collected for free)
• All your plastic bottles can be recycled, from ketchup to pop bottles, bleach bottles and mouth wash – give them a quick rinse and squash for more space in your recycling bin.

Fast facts

  • Recycling all of Scotland’s food waste would produce enough energy to power a city the size of Inverness
  • Recycling is worth the effort and has a value:
    • If we all recycled just one drinks can every week Scottish councils would save £3 million a year;
    • Putting all of our used teabags in a food waste caddy will save almost £550,000 in landfill tax;
    • If we all recycled just one clear glass bottle every week, we’d save almost £3 million a year;
    • If we all recycled one mobile phone this year we would save 130 kg of gold with a value of over £4 million.
  • We currently send nearly 3 million tonnes of waste to landfill every year. This costs us £150 million in landfill tax

Scots can follow Recycle Week activity and share messages throughout the week on the Recycle for Scotland Facebook page or using the #RecycleWeekScot on Twitter.

If businesses, local authorities or community groups want to get involved or host an event, information and support materials are available at http://www.recycleforscotland.com/recycle-week-2016

 

Government launches September Recycling Week

Pick up the recycling habit this September

DSC00464

Cabinet Secretary for Environment Roseanna Cunningham has announced a week long effort to get Scotland recycling – and community groups are being encouraged to get involved.

Recycle Week will run from 12 to 18 September, co-ordinated by Zero Waste Scotland, it will aim to get everyone recycling more by raising awareness of the benefits and promoting easy ways to do more.

In the run up to the week local authorities, businesses, community groups, schools and colleges are being encouraged to get involved and take action to help boost recycling.

Launching the week this morning on World Environment Day (5 June), Ms Cunningham said: “We are lucky to be blessed with a stunning environment that is one of our most precious assets. It is crucial that we protect our resources and that’s key to our ambitions for a more circular economy in Scotland, where we keep products and materials in valuable use for longer.

“We’ve made great progress increasing recycling in recent years. For example in 2010 only 12% of households had food waste collections, while new figures show that has increased to 75%. It has never been easier to recycle your waste, but we still have further to go.

“People and communities the length and breadth of Scotland have a role to play and this September we’ll be encouraging more folk to pick up the recycling habit and do their bit for our environment.”

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Recycle Week is all about getting as many people in Scotland as possible aware of the need to recycle more and to recycle better.

“More people than ever are recycling, especially in relation to food waste, which has a huge environmental impact. But we can all be better at it, and during Recycle Week we’ll be highlighting the importance of doing our bit – providing advice on what and how to recycle best, exploding some of the myths in the process, with a series of high profile events and activities. I hope as many people as possible will get involved.”

For businesses, local authorities or community groups who want to get involved or host an event, information and support materials are available at http://www.recycleforscotland.com/recycle-week-2016

Making the news: Edinburgh Remakery opens for business

Remakery 001

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

Pass It On Week activities

Pass It On Week 5 – 13 March

Local organisations are backing a national campaign that aims to encourage people to keep things in use for longer.

gorgie city farm

Edinburgh residents are set to answer a national call to make things last. A host of local events have been lined up for this year’s Pass it On Week – an annual event in the recycling and reuse calendar.

In Edinburgh, this includes a diverse mix of activity, including:

–       Upcycled World are running furniture painting workshops at Tribe Porty in Portobello on 5th March to breath new life into old furniture.

–       Gorgie City Farm (above) are holding a seed swap for green-fingered locals on 12th of March.

–       Students at Edinburgh Napier University are holding a Trash Fashion event on 9th March, upcycling old bike inner tubes into fashion accessories.

–       Pupils at Abbeyhill Primary School are holding a school uniform swap on 11th March.

–       Edinburgh University Students are creating a ‘Re-use Hoose’ on 15th March to show how to much can be done with re-used household items.

These are just some of more than 250 swapping, donating, sharing, upcycling and repairing events happening across Scotland to help products stay in use as long as possible, helping to reduce our impact on the planet.

Pass it on Week is also about encouraging people to buy more re-used items. There is a growing network of second hand shops across Scotland that have achieved the Revolve quality standard, which aims to get more people buying used items.

Edinburgh has several Revolve accredited stores including the Bike Station which specialises in refurbished bikes and a number of re-used furniture stores including Fresh Start on Ferry Road Drive and the Edinburgh Furniture Initiative which has superstores in Sighthill and Cannonmills.

Zero Waste Scotland chief executive Iain Gulland said: “We’ve had a tremendous response to Pass it On Week across Scotland this year, and it’s great to see so much activity in Edinburgh. Keeping items in use for longer can save money, create job opportunities and make best use of the world’s raw materials that go into making the goods that we consume.

“It’s all about creating a society where we see the value in things instead of treating them as disposable. By sharing, swapping, repairing, buying second-hand and doing all we can to make things last, we can develop a more sustainable, circular economy for a flourishing Scotland.”

With more events being added all the time, Edinburgh residents should head to www.passitonweek.com and look up events in their area to see what’s happening.

Charter heralds a ‘new dawn’ for recycling in Scotland

Scottish Government and COSLA announce agreement on new consistent recycling systems across the country

recycling

Scotland’s Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead was joined by COSLA spokesperson for Development, Economy and Sustainability, Councillor Stephen Hagan earlier this week to announce a new consistent approach to recycling in Scotland. Continue reading Charter heralds a ‘new dawn’ for recycling in Scotland