News archive - Week ending 18th January 2008

Food Recycling Trials

A number of councils in Scotland are considering, or already trialing, food recycling.
In East Renfrewshire thousands of householders are to be given separate bins for food waste as part of a composting scheme. These dedicated food collections will start in April as part of a 12-month trial. It is hoped the move, which will affect homes in areas such as Barrhead, Newton Mearns, Giffnock and Thornliebank, will prevent more than 500 tonnes of waste from being sent to landfill..

A similar scheme in the North East, involving 5,000 houses in Banff, Macduff, Whitehills and Aberchirder, is due to start next month. The weekly collections will take food waste directly to a composter where it will be mixed with green waste, such as grass, weeds and dead flowers. The mixture will then be heated to 70C for more than an hour, and turned into compost. It is estimated to cost around £60 to recycle each tonne of waste.

These projects are among several to have received funding from the Scottish Government. At present 1.54 million tonnes of biodegradable waste goes to landfill in Scotland each year. The EU landfill directive says this should fall to 880,000 tonnes by 2013. Councils who fail to meet targets face fines of millions of pounds

In Edinburgh recycling waste food is still under consideration as part of plans to reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill; if agreed it is unlikely to start before 2010. About a third of the food bought is thrown in the bin and at least half of this could have been eaten. The first food waste collections in Edinburgh would boost the city's recycling rates by 5.7 per cent. A community-based food waste composting scheme is already available in Caledonian Crescent, Dalry, where the food waste is collected by residents and composted in the back green.

East Coast Undersea Power Cable Viable

According to a new report by the Crown Estate, an undersea cable taking electricity from Shetland and Orkney to south east England is viable. The East Coast Transmission Network: Technical Feasibility Study concludes that such a project would be economically and technically possible and may ultimately connect Scottish green energy projects to Europe. However, it warns that there would still need to be reinforcements carried out to the onshore transmission network.

The Crown Estate, which owns most of the UK's sea bed, last year began looking into the practicality of a high-capacity off-shore electricity line in response to the growing demand for sustainable sources of clean fuel and to help overcome difficulties in providing land-based transmission lines.

It is estimated that the core of the system would cost up to £1.7bn, with the total network costing about £4.8bn by 2020. It would be able to transmit in the region of five to ten gigawatts.

Household Recycling Hailed a Success

Figures from the Scottish Government confirm that the drive, in partnership with local authorities, to push up participation in recycling has been a success. The Scottish Household Survey (2007 ? Quarter 2) is the latest in the continuous survey information about communities, transport and local government. Since 2000 it has also covered household recycling and in that time the percentage of both adults and households reporting recycling various items has increased.

The percentage of adults reporting recycling glass, paper, metal cans or newspaper/magazine/paper/cardboard increased from just under 44 per cent in the first quarter of 2000 to just under 49 per cent in the first quarter of 2003. The percentage of households reporting recycling one or more of these materials, has shown a marked increase from just under 53 per cent in the second quarter of 2003 to 85 per cent in the second quarter of 2007.

There has been a greater increase in the percentage of households recycling paper, plastic and cans compared with glass, which has been attributed to the introduction of kerbside collection of materials by the Scottish Government.

Eco-school for the Highlands

Work has begun on the first fully environmentally sustainable school in the Highlands. The first turf was cut at a ceremony to mark the start of construction of the £5.8million Acharacle Primary School in Ardnamurchan, which is due to open at the end of 2008

The timber building will have exceptional levels of insulation, air tightness and a minimal need for heating. Detailed consultation has been undertaken to ensure the school meets future requirements not only in terms of accommodation but in ensuring the building is sustainably sourced and has minimum impact on the environment. The new building will be constructed to use natural ventilation and daylight.

Speaking after the first sod was cut on the project, Councillor Bill Fernie, Chairman of the Council's Education, Culture and Sport Committee, said: "This is a landmark and exciting development as it encompasses all the key elements of what the Council is trying to achieve in increasing the prosperity and wellbeing of people living and working in the Highlands and aiming to create a greener and sustainable Highland Council.