An event like the Glasgow Commonwealth Games comes once in a generation and you could argue, so do opportunities to take action that will unquestionably benefit our society and environment. Delivering programmes that will benefit Scotland and contribute to a more sustainable environment in the long term are what Zero Waste Scotland is all about.
Glasgows hugely successful 2014 Games has had a relentless focus on legacy and more than a little of that has been centred around sustainability, with the Zero Waste Scotland team working in partnership with the Organising Committee to help put resource efficiency at the heart of Games planning,delivery and legacy.
This commitment from the Organising Committee has helped bring about the Games stated aim of minimising waste to landfill, and the plentiful provision of excellent recycling facilities at every event. At Games venues, spectators were served snacks in compostable packaging which could be disposed of with food waste in special composting bins, with special pavement signage developed to flag up to people what to do with their compostable packaging.
But its not just in the visible impacts where Zero Waste Scotland has looked to embed sustainability.
Recent years have seen the awareness of food waste escalate, as policy makers, businesses and householders alike recognise the growing problem and the importance of tackling it, and a growing understanding outside the industry that food waste, like any other sort of waste, has value.
Compost
This summer weve seen this value in action as food waste collected from households throughout the west of Scotland made a real contribution to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Food and garden waste collected from households in Glasgow City, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire has been transformed into compost which was used in the development of the Athletes Village and other Games venues.
Almost 50,000 tonnes of food and garden waste is collected from these councils each year and sent to GP Plantscapes In-Vessel Composting (IVC) facility in Blantyre for processing.
This really caught the imagination of the Scottish media, with a host of stories about banana skins and potato peelings being turned into the turf that athletes lived on. In Commonwealth Games terms, it really was a gold medal performance for sustainability in practice.
Sustainability
This was part of a wider sustainability plan for the Games, which aimed to minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill throughout the event, and a commitment to recycle as much as possible.
This profile for food waste is good news we want householders to make the best possible use of the food waste recycling services that theyre now entitled to under the Waste (Scotland) Regulations which came into play at the start of this year. So far, 1.3 million householders can access a food waste recycling service, and this is increasing, with Zero Waste Scotland providing funding and support to local authorities.
Were already leading the field in Scotland with ambitious zero waste and resource efficiency targets, but by working closely with Glasgow 2014 we are ensuring that our sustainability legacy is around long after the crowds have dispersed.
Hitting these targets and projecting a long-lasting image of a sustainable green event to the Scottish public, tourists and observers can set an example of best practice for future events, both at home and abroad.
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