Recycling Upstairs and Down

Recycling Upstairs and Down is the chosen theme of Scotland’s Recycle Week 22 – 28 June 2015 – encouraging us to look past the kitchen when recycling around the home.

Studies show that we are great at recycling stuff in the kitchen, but when it comes to the rest of the house, we often forget that an empty bleach bottle is just as recyclable as an empty water bottle. So this Recycle Week, Zero Waste Scotland is calling for us to get recycling all around the house.

This means in the bathroom, recycling things like shampoo bottles, loo rolls, aerosols and the boxes toothpaste comes in; or in the bedroom, recycling the cardboard tags from new clothes and when clothes are too worn out to be re-used, recycling them as well. In the living room, you can recycle newspapers and magazines.

You can see how all this stuff starts to stack up in old rubbish bin, can’t you?

Zero Waste Scotland will be adding a whole range of support materials online very soon, so check www.recycleforscotland.com for a toolkit, posters, guides, template media materials and more.

Your rubbish is your resource

ReUseShedWe are working with East Lothian Council to find ways to divert local waste away from landfill.

How many times have you looked in the skip at our local recycling Centre and throught…

that’s a perfectly good table…I could fix that up…

but you can’t get access to the table cause regulations don’t allow it.

We will continue to work with ELC to find ways forward so that our local waste can be reduced, reused and recycled more and can benefit local people, groups like the Dunbar Community Shed, local businesses and schools.

Get in touch if you have ideas you would like support to help you make them happen.

Zero Waste Dunbar & District.

Good to go!

Recycling trailerThe Zero Waste Dunbar & District ‘Recycling on the Go’ trailer is ready to have recycling bins loaded for Civic Week.

Through the summer the Zero Waste team will be out and about at local events helping organisers to get an understanding about what kind of waste is being produced at their events and together find ways to reduce, reuse and recycle all waste at their next event.

We will also be asking  you what you feel will make it easier for you to reduce, reuse and recycle more on the go.

We are Scotland’s first Zero Waste Town and we are working to meet Scottish Government 2025 waste reduction targets. Together with East Lothian Council we can do this.

 

Dunbar & District – our time is now!

Here in the Dunbar area we have the chance to lead the way in Scotland to make more of our local waste – locally.

For the next two years Dunbar and District have the focussed support of Zero Waste Scotland and direct access to national and international expertise for realising ways our area can reduce our waste to landfill and benefit more locally from our waste as a resource.

The Zero Waste Dunbar & District project will help our local schools, households and businesses to lead the way in Scotland. Get in touch with the Zero Waste Dunbar & District project to discuss how we can all move towards zero waste to landfill and a vibrant circular economy.

Yesterday the first ever debate on Scotland’s Circular Economy was held in the Scottish Parliament. Watch it here

 

 

 

 

 

Are you interested?

Are you interested in setting up your own repair and reuse social enterprise? Or are you an organisation that would like to diversify into repair?

Zero Waste Dunbar & District can fund you to attend this workshop being given by Sophie Unwin, co-founder of the Brixton Remakery and founder and director of Remade in Edinburgh. She share the steps of their journey, explain the wider vision, and give some tips for success and pointers of potential pitfalls to help you on your journey.

1pm- 4.30pm on Thursday the 18th of June at 17 Guthrie Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JG.

There are only 7 places available on this workshop.

Tickets cost £50 for individuals, with a concessionary rate of £35 for the low-waged, and £80 for organisations.

Please contact sue@sustainingdunbar.org regarding our funded placements for residents/ business in the Dunbar Ward.

For more information about this workshop please click – here

Is a bottle and can deposit return system feasible in Scotland?

A new report investigating the options for whether the introduction of a refundable cash deposit for recycling drinks bottles and cans could work in Scotland has been released today by Zero Waste Scotland.

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said:

“Scotland has set ambitious targets for moving towards zero waste, and we know that many drinks cans and bottles are not currently being recycled and may end up as very visible litter.

“Deposit return systems have been used in many other parts of the world to prevent waste and increase recycling.  So this new report, which assesses how such a scheme could work in Scotland, is an important contribution to the debate about how we achieve our zero waste goals and move towards a more circular economy.

“The research explores how a deposit return system could work in Scotland, and the issues to consider in designing and implementing a system.  That’s why we are also launching a call for evidence today to understand the impacts of such a system and how it could work most effectively.”
For more information and findings click here

 

 

Innerwick Primary School Scrap Play Pod

We are pleased to be able to support Innerwick Primary School with their exciting new project to build a shed to store all kinds of stuff to play with (that would have otherwise ended up landfill).

We have helped to fund a wooden shed and are helping to source stuff from local businesses like tires, inner tubes, pipes, old clothing, wigs, shoes …you name it!

Have a look at what other schools have done to divert waste to landfill and to make playtime more fun.

 

We are recruiting 2 Project Officers

Zero Waste Dunbar and District are looking for 2 Project Officers to deliver the Zero Waste Dunbar programme. If you have the skills and experience to facilitate and help deliver this exciting programme we’d love to hear from you.

Full job descriptions for the Education and Community Project Officer and Business and Community Project Officer can be found ZWD Project Officers.

 Application Closing Date

Candidates should apply by emailing a current CV and covering note to zerowaste@sustainingdunbar.org by 5pm on Friday 24th April 2015 with subject ‘ZWD Project Officer’.

 Interviews

We expect interviews to be held in Dunbar on Tuesday 5th of May 2015.

 Further Information

Any questions regarding this role can be directed to Susan Guy

sue@sustainingdunbar.org

Telephone: 01368 866920

Sustaining Dunbar, Station Yard, Station Road, Dunbar, EH42 1JX

Zero Waste Dunbar is Recruiting

We’re looking for a new Project Manager to lead the Zero Waste Dunbar programme. If you have the skills and experience to lead this exciting programme we’d love to hear from you.

A full job description can be found here.

Application Closing Date

Candidates should apply by emailing a current CV and covering note to zerowaste@sustainingdunbar.org by 5pm on Friday 20th February 2015 with subject ‘ZWD Project Manager’.

Interviews

We expect interviews to be held in Dunbar on Monday 9th March 2015.

Further Information

Any questions regarding this role can be directed to Libi Newell

libi@sustainingdunbar.org

01368 866920

Sustaining Dunbar, Station Yard, Station Road, Dunbar, EH42 1JX

 

 

Zero Waste Christmas #5 – The Big Day

It’s Christmas Eve and our last blog about having a Zero Waste Christmas looks at what to do after the big day, re-using, recycling and using up those leftovers.

Re-use

Once all the new presents have been opened you might find that you have some old items which have now been replaced. If you got a new bike, coat or phone, you probably won’t need your old ones anymore. But don’t throw them in the bin. If they’re in a good condition there’s lots of opportunities for passing them on. The local Charity shops on Dunbar High St take clothing and household items, Dunbar Garden Centre has a tools collection point for reuse through the Tools Shed Charity, the local Re-use organisation Recycling First can collect furniture and a variety of other items, and several national charities collect old phones for recycling. So when the wrapping has been cleared have a think before you throw any replaced items away.

You can also re-use some of your wrapping paper and Christmas cards by turning them into decorations or gift tags and bows for next year’s presents. Here are a few examples of how you can get creative with your old Christmas cards and wrapping paper:

Recycling

Get ready for the post present opening clear up to maximise your re-use and recycling. Let your fellow present openers know if you want to keep any wrapping beforehand and have separate bags or boxes ready for re-use, recycling & general waste so it’s easy to split them when you’re clearing up.

Most of your Christmas cards, paper wrapping and cardboard from the presents can be recycled in your normal household collection. But there may be changes to collection days over the festive period so check your collection calendar on the East Lothian Council website.

When it comes time to take the decorations down, don’t forget about recycling your Christmas Tree. There are three ways East Lothian Council can collect real Christmas trees for composting:

  • If you have a brown bin present the tree beside it on your collection day;
  • Contact 01875 824 305 to arrange an uplift; or
  • Take it to one of East Lothian’s Recycling Centres.

Check out the East Lothian Council website for more information.

Leftovers

Studies have shown that the average family in Scotland throws away a fifth of the food that we buy, worth around £470 every year. Love Food Hate Waste, a national campaign to reduce food waste at home, has lots of delicious recipes for leftovers and tips and tricks for making our food last longer. Here’s some of our favourite Christmas leftover recipes:

Visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com to check out more recipes and download the free App.

We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and wonderful start to the New Year.

Merry Christmas from Zero Waste Dunbar.