The Think Tank brings together a wide range of expertise, all with a common goal – moving Scotland towards becoming a Zero Waste society
Richard Lochhead, Scottish Government
Cabinet secretary for rural affairs and the environment, Richard Lochhead is to chair a meeting of waste management experts at the Hub, ranging from council officers to university professors.
The group will advise the government on new policies announced in January- such as a 70% recycling target by 2025 and a cap on energy from waste – and how to bring them into practise (see letsrecycle.com story).
It will also help decide how to spend the £154 million which Scotland has pledged to help realise its zero waste ambition (see letsrecycle.com story).
Announcing the meeting yesterday, Mr Lochhead said: “Tomorrow marks the first meeting of the Zero Waste Think Tank, which I am delighted to be chairing.”
“In January, I announced a number of policies which will improve waste prevention, further increase recycling and reduce waste going to landfill.
“The Think Tank brings together a wide range of expertise, all with a common goal – moving Scotland towards becoming a Zero Waste society. Tomorrow will mark the first in a series of meetings aimed at making that goal a reality,” he added.
The 13-strong Zero Waste Think Tank includes the director of Biffa Waste Services, Peter Jones, SEPA's waste and resources unit manager, John Ferguson and the network director for the Community Recycling Network for Scotland, Iain Gulland.
Also present will be Andy Law, director of operational services at Argyll and Bute council and environmental sustainability manager for Fife council, Chris Ewing.
Fife council has been picked out by the Scottish Government because it is already recycling over 36% of its waste and is the first authority to commit to sending zero waste to landfill by 2020.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com today, a spokesperson for the Scottish Government said that it hoped councils would look to the example of Fife when developing their own waste policies in line with government guidelines.
Composting
As a result of its performance, Fife was chosen yesterday as the location for the launch of the 2008 Composting at Home Campaign- which is run by Waste Aware Scotland, WRAP, the Scottish Government and all 32 local authorities in Scotland.
The Cabinet secretary Richard Lochhead visited the Lochhead waste management facility in Fife, which has facilities for public recycling, composting, waste wood processing, landfill and a combined heat and power facility (CHP).
The CHP can produce up to 2MW of electricity from methane extracted from the landfill, while waste heat is used to heat over 200 domestic flats and seven public buildings.
Peter Grant, leader of the administration in Fife, explained: “It is our vision to become a leading green council, one which we are well on the way to achieving. Landfilling waste is expensive, wastes resources, contributes to the greenhouse effect and increases the risk of other forms of pollution. That's why we're determined to do all we can to put zero council collected waste to landfill.
“I am delighted to be able to share with Mr Lochhead our innovative plans and policies which are at the forefront of reducing waste to landfill and to discuss partnership working. It is important that we receive the support and relevant funding to be able to explore some of our more ambitious plans,” he added.
Register for free to comment