Leith to become Zero Waste Town

Press release from Changeworks

Leith to become Zero Waste Town

Leith is set to lead the way in becoming a zero waste town for residents and workers and drive forward Scotland’s waste-free revolution, as part of an initiative led by local environmental charity Changeworks.

Leith, along with Perth and central Edinburgh have been selected as the locations for Scotland’s third Zero Waste Town projects. Each will receive a share of nearly £900,000 in funding from Zero Waste Scotland and the European Regional Development Fund to ‘make things last’ in their communities.

Changeworks’ ambitious plan is to develop zero waste approaches to life and business in Leith working with community groups and partners and contributing to Scotland’s growing circular economy. Activities include using area-based street approach to tackling waste to develop a best practice model to roll out beyond Leith, engaging all stakeholders in school communities, a Zero Waste business charter, community clean up and campaigns to improve repair and reuse and cut fly tipping and food waste.

Changeworks’ plan will build on work already underway in the area, with benefits and legacy which go well beyond the funding end date of March 2020.

Teresa Bray, Chief Executive, Changeworks said:

“We’ve had such a positive response to Zero Waste Leith from community groups, businesses, schools and residents across the community. We engaged with people living and working in Leith earlier in the year to inform plans for what will happen to tackle waste reduction – Leith is very much at its heart.

“We’re hugely excited to be working with the Leith community to cut litter, fly tipping and food waste and improve recycling, repairing and reusing to get the most out of what we have. We’re building on what’s already happening – adding capacity, resource, support and energy – to ensure Leith leads the way in becoming a new Zero Waste Town. This is a united front by businesses, community groups, schools and residents to improve quality of life and create better places to live and work.

“Leith will be part of a bigger Zero Waste Town movement, working alongside the Zero Waste Perth consortium and SHRUB, and learning from the previous experiences of Zero Waste Towns Dunbar and the Isle of Bute. We’ll see lots of opportunities for people to get involved and make a difference locally, as well as contribute to Scotland’s ambitious targets.”

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

“Communities are right at the heart of delivering real, lasting behaviour change. With their new Zero Waste Town status these three areas will have new tools with which to build on their zero waste work – while contributing to coordinated action across the country to drive a more sustainable, circular, economy.”

Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, said:

“Re-using and recycling more, and making the most of the food we buy and grow, is something we can all do to reduce waste and keep products and materials in high-value use for longer.

“In Scotland we are working towards ambitious targets on waste, with 70% recycled or prepared for re-use by 2025, and a commitment to reduce food waste by a third by the same year.

“Action from households, communities and businesses is crucial for us to achieve this. That is why I am delighted to announce this funding which will help Scotland’s Zero Waste Towns come up with new and innovative ideas to bring these targets within reach.”

The Zero Waste Towns initiative forms part of the Resource Efficiency (Highlands and Islands and Lowlands and Uplands Scotland) operations of the £73 Million Resource Efficiency Circular Economy Accelerator Programme, funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

 

Cavity Insulation Project – Leith

A letter has been issued to all private properties within the EH6 area and will be landing w/c 30/10/2017 with local residents within the EH6 area.

The City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland are providing free cavity wall insulation* for suitable homes in the Leith area. If the cavity wall insulation has degraded, it can be removed and replaced for free. If properties do not currently have cavity wall insulation, they can be assessed and if suitable, insulation can be installed. It typically costs around £475** to install this type of insulation.  This offer is also available to private and social residents*** and will contribute to improving the EPC ratings of properties.

We would encourage you to ensure that householders are made aware of this offer as there is limited funding which may not be available in the future.  You can also contact Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 in order to verify any information.

Changeworks
36 Newhaven Road
Edinburgh EH6 5PY

Could Leith be the next Zero Waste Town?

Leith based environmental charity, Changeworks, is looking to assess the potential of Leith becoming the next Zero Waste Town. As a householder located in Leith this is your opportunity to tell us what you think about how waste is currently managed in Leith, and to input into our proposed project activities.

Share your views by completing this online survey by Friday 17 March 2017 and be entered into our £50 voucher prize draw*.

This research is funded by Zero Waste Scotland. We will use the findings from the survey to inform our application for further funding from Zero Waste Scotland to run the Zero Waste Leith project. This project would follow on from similar projects in Dunbar and Bute, where the community and businesses have come together to increase recycling, reduce waste, improve their local environment and make better use of resources.

Participating in this research project could help save you money on your energy bills!

Reminder – would you like to take part in a project that may help to reduce gas and electricity bills?

Changeworks (a long established environmental charity) has partnered with the University of Edinburgh to deliver IDEAL, a cutting edge research project exploring how smart technology can help save energy in the home. They are looking for Edinburgh households (EH1-17) with gas combi boiler heating to participate. The benefits to you include:

  • Gaining insight into your home energy use
  • Receiving a free android tablet used to display energy use information
  • Receiving tailored advice from University of Edinburgh experts
  • Hopefully saving money on gas and electricity bills

There is no cost to participate in this project.

For more details on the benefits, and the criteria for taking part see the IDEAL leaflet, have a look at the Changeworks website, and to get involved, contact IDEAL@changeworks.org.uk, or call 0131 539 8610 (Drew Murphy, IDEAL Project Manager).

Important note:  Leith Links Community Council is sharing this information but is not either recommending / endorsing it, or otherwise.