Waste

The Waste special interest group has around 10 members (known affectionately as the 'wasters') of which three are professionally involved in the waste management industry in some form or another.
In line with the ethos of the Scottish Government in encouraging the Scottish public to 'Do a Little Change a Lot' the Group has agreed to follow the policy adopted by the main Forum to limit themselves to tackling a few issues.

Aberdeenshire Waste Strategy

We offered to Aberdeenshire Council to openly support them in the development of their Integrated Sustainable Waste Management Strategy and other policies where we agreed with their proposals.
The other side of that coin is however that we will openly criticise the Council where we do not agree with what they are doing and in that case we would hope to be able to suggest alternatives, in most situations.

Scotland's Waste Strategy

The Zero Waste Plan for Scotland was published by the Scottish Government in June 2010. Although titled as a 'plan' it is more of a strategic policy intent and the real detail will come from the Zero Waste (Scotland) Regulations expected in 2011 but now more likely to be 2012. Following that detailed implementation plans will be developed by individuals, councils and businesses.
The ZWP will impact on the waste generation habits of every person, household and business in Scotland. It presents exciting and challenging targets which in some cases go beyond the requirements of European legislation. It is essential reading at this time to ensure that you are planning now for the changes to come.

Local Initiatives

The issue of littering and who actually drops litter is well researched and recorded; the following report prepared for Keep Britain Tidy makes very interesting reading: People who Litter (pdf)

In June 2007, we established the Aberdeenshire Litter Initiative ALi.
This is a scheme which encourages individuals, groups and business within Aberdeenshire to 'adopt a street' or area of public open space and to keep it clear of litter. To aid in this, we supply volunteers with safety guidance, a litter picking stick and a Hi Viz vest. (More details of the scheme can be found here)

In the run up to the local Council elections in Scotland in May 2012, the following report also from Keep Britain Tidy should give existing politicians and future candidates some food for thought: Broken Windows in the Big Brother House (pdf)

George Niblock receives his award

In the 2011 Scottish Waste and Resources (SWRC) awards, our own George Niblock (seen above, centre) was nominated and Won the the award for 'Outstanding Contribution - The Peoples Choice' in recognition of his efforts during 2011 in waste management including work with ALi, which in his own words "makes me the biggest 'waster' in Scotland for the year!"

critical planning If you fail to plan then you plan to fail