Circular economy - Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle

> Black Isle Repair Cafe
> Scottish Circular Economy Bill passed
> Clachworks Inverness

*March 2025

Share and Repair Network March newsletter

Thank you so much to everyone who came along to the Share & Repair Gathering at the end of last month - and for all contributions to making it a great day.  It was really inspiring to hear all the conversations and see so many connections taking place. You can read a report of the event, including slides, references and feedback on our website here.

 

. . and lots more!

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*September 2024

Highland Council adopts Circular Economy 

From Skye Climate Action September newsletter

The Highland Council has committed to embed Circular Economy Principles into the Council’s Day to day operations, in order to align its operations with the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act. This will reduce waste, encourage efficient use of resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the Council's Net Zero Strategy. The Act’s legal requirements includes complying with new waste management regulations, such as the reduction of landfill waste and a ban on biodegradable municipal waste by 2025, as well as measures to ban specific single-use plastic items and enhanced deposit return schemes for packaging. The Council’s next steps are

• Developing a Circular Economy Strategy to guide its transition to a circular economy
• Investing in recycling infrastructure to enhance waste management capabilities
• Promoting sustainable procurement
• Engaging with communities to raise awareness of circular economy principles and encourage participation.

HC News item on this policy

Detailed report to Climate Change Committee  28 August 2024

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*August 2024

A Highland Repair Directory and Network . .

. . is being set up as part of the Highland Community Waste Partnership project.  Laura Donnelly, TBI's Project Officer for the Partnership, has provided this information

The Highland Repair Directory is a free interactive map, designed to help people find nearby repair services for their favourite items. 

Add your repair business or project here... https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/highland-community-waste-partnership/share-repair/highland-repair-directory/

This will be a handy resource to signpost too for repairs we can't deal with at the Black Isle Repair Cafe.  If you know any repairers that should be on the map, please let them know, or send me their contact details and I'll get in touch.  A great way to get some free advertising! 

To promote the directory, we will have an information table in the library at the next Black Isle Repair Cafe on 7 September.   The launch will be part of the Highlands and Islands Climate Festival and HCWP have arranged for a photographer to come along and take professional pictures at the event.  What a great piece of promotion for the Black Isle Repair Cafe! 
 

Highland Repair Network

We are inviting members of Highland-based repair initiatives to the first meeting of the Highland Repair Network on 24 September.  The network aims to create a space to support existing repair projects, to share best practice and support more Highland communities to start repairing themselves.  We will hold the network meeting at 11:30am before the Circular Communities Scotland's, Highland Members Forum in Nairn. If you'd like to stay for the CCS Highland Members Forum and visit Green Hives workshops, please use the booking link below to register.  

Circular Communities Scotland's Highland Members Forum Tuesday 24th September 1 - 3 pm in Seaman’s Hall in Nairn with a visit to Green Hives workshops after the meeting.  A great opportunity to get together with people in similar projects.  Please come along and join in the discussion! 

More information and booking

The Highland Repair Network meeting is open to anyone involved in community repair initiatives so please do share with others who may be interested.

More information on the Events calendar for 24 September

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*August 2024

Scotland's Circular Economy Bill passed

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 26 June and received the royal assent on 8 August.

Read about the background to and general provisions of the bill and the changes made as it passed through parliament.

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*August 2024

Waste Partnership Repair Directory

From H&I Climate Hub August newsletter

The Highland Community Waste Partnership is building a free, interactive map of repair services in the Highlands.

The map aims to make it easier for people to share & repair items, instead of sending broken ones to landfill and buying new. If you offer repair services, have a repair cafe or a particular repair niche, submit it to the map.

The map will be launched during the Highlands & Islands Climate Festival in September.

Join the Directory here.

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*August 2024

Returnable packaging pilot launches for Highland Businesses

From H&I Climate Hub August newsletter

Did you know that 83% of people in Highland said they are likely to choose to avoid packaging when the option is available to them? 

The Highland Community Waste Partnership has launched its latest intervention to reduce packaging waste and promote more #ConsciousConsumption.  Building on the success of the Highland Cup Movement, this pilot will give businesses the chance to try a returnable food and drinks packaging scheme for free.  By allowing customers to access reusables at the point of sale, schemes like this make it easier than ever to #ChooseToReuse and reduce the waste and litter created by single-use packaging.  

Learn more here 

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February 2024

'Sharerepairaware' campaign

The Share and Repair Network ran this campaign launching on  26 February and leading up to its Share and Repair Gathering in Stirling on 29 February.  It's not clear if the campaigh has ended, but the campaign pack is still available         and seeks pledges to be 'Sharerepairaware' in 2024.

December 2023

Waste Project urges 'Conscious consumption'

An item in the Highland Good Food Partnership December newsletter highlights a web page by KSB/Highland Community Waste Partnership urging us to move towards 'conscious consumption'.  Topics covered, with numerous links to further information, include  Food waste and composting; Share and repair; and packaging and single-use.
 

 


       Find out more

 

 

 

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July 2023

Circular Communities Scotland campaign for a strong and ambitious Circular Economy Bill

From NESCAN Hub August updates

At Circular Communities Scotland, we believe in the transformative power of a circular economy to create a more sustainable and socially just Scotland.

Our campaign ‘Continuing Our Call for a Strong and Ambitious Circular Economy Bill’ maintains our message to the Scottish Government – put bold reuse policies at the heart of Scotland’s Circular Economy Bill.

The Scottish Government has long supported moving to a circular economy, but we believe progress has been too slow. If Scotland is to achieve its net zero target by 2045, we need to reduce our carbon emissions by 75% by 2030.

Zero Waste Scotland have estimated that 82% of our carbon footprint is driven by consumption.

Now is the time for meaningful action!

Read our full Policy Paper for Scotland’s Circular Economy Bill 2023

What is the Circular Economy Bill? The Scottish Government published updates to its proposed Circular Economy Bill on June 13th 2023. This legislation aims to redefine how waste and resources are managed in Scotland.

What is the Circular Economy? We believe we can help tackle the climate emergency and promote social and environmental justice for communities across Scotland by supporting a shift from the linear economy to a circular economy. In a circular economy we keep products in high value economic use for as long as possible through reuse, repair and recycling.

Consultation on the bill has been extended until 1 September.

Respond to the consultation

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June 2023

Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill introduced

The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee is seeking your views on the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, which was introduced by the Scottish Government on Tuesday 13th June 2023. 

The Bill aims to ensure Scotland makes progress towards a circular economy, a concept which is defined in the Bill as:

• cuts waste, carbon emissions and pressures on the natural environment
• opens up new market opportunities, improves productivity, increases self-sufficiency and resilience by reducing reliance on international supply chains and global shocks
• strengthens communities by providing local employment opportunities and lower cost options to access the goods Scotland needs

The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee is calling for views on the bill, which can be submitted via the above link.

The consultation closes on 1 September 2023.

> Previous circular economy discussion

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Spring 2023

Change works 'Too Good to Waste' bulletin

Edinburgh-based Circular Economy ideas.

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March 2023

A Swap Shop for TBI?

As you can see in the item below from their March newsletter, Skye Climate Action operates a very popular Swap Shop, previously weekly as 'Waste Not Wednesdays', and currently on a series of consecutive or close together dates.  Ideas circulate from to time about setting up a TBI Swap Shop, but they run into the problem of requiring premises  of some kind in which to store stuff between events; not necessarily a building - one thinks of a shipping container, garage, garden shed or (as appears to be the case in the Skye picture) a polytunnel or tent, as other possibilities.

If you would be interested in pursuing the idea of a TBI Swap Shop - and better still if you have somewhere which might be suitable for storing stuff, please email  info@transitionblackisle.org .

March 2023

Skye Climate Action 'Waste not' swap shops

Waste Not is back!

Having a clear out? Need to de-clutter?

Help to develop a reduce, re-use and recycle culture on Skye
by cutting down the amount of waste going to landfill.

“One person’s trash is another’s treasure.” 

Bring along your old and unwanted items to one of our
WASTE NOT events.

Clothes, toys, tools, bric-a-brac, books, CDs, DVDs etc.
Kitchen items, fabric, yarn, craft materials….basically anything that’s
too good to go in the bin and might be useful for someone else.

Waste not Wednesdays took place regularly through March and April 2023

Venue: The Waste Not Green Sheds @ 9 Torrin, IV49 9BA
Time: 10am – 5pm
This is a ‘swap shop’ style event where items can be taken away for FREE! 

Any questions contact: beckyplasticfree@btinternet.com

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March 2023

Black Isle Repair Cafes now established

Black Isle repair cafes are a joint initiative of TBI, Black Isle Men's Shed and the Highland Community Waste Partnership.  Following a trial event at the Highland Climate Festival in June 2022, they have been established as regular monthly events, with the location rotating round the Black Isle villages.

If you've got stuff you'd like to get repaired, or would like to volunteer as a repairer or just to help generally with a cafe from time to time, contact Gillian Newman at  blackislerepaircafe@gmail.com .

 

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*August 2024

Scottish Circular Economy Bill passed

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill was passed on 26 June 2024 and became an Act on 08 August 2024

This Bill requires Scottish Ministers to introduce measures to help develop a circular economy. This includes:

• Publishing a circular economy strategy
• Developing circular economy targets
• Reducing waste
• Increasing penalties for littering from vehicles
• Making sure individual householders and businesses get rid of waste in the right way
• Improving waste monitoring

Scottish Government overview of the Act

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January 2023

Circular Economy for Scotland? - legislation this year

A brief review of the current status of the Scottish Government's Circular Economy bill was provided by environmental campaigner and consultant Dr Richard Dixon in The Scotsman of 15 December 2022.

Scotland's Circular Economy Bill is attracting widespread public support so SNP and Green government should be ambitious.

The public are demanding more action on waste, including targets for our consumption of key materials, in the forthcoming Circular Economy Bill.

It was first promised in 2019 but was then put on hold because of the pandemic. It is now firmly back on the agenda, with the results of a public consultation published recently and a draft Bill expected in the Scottish Parliament next year.

Read the full article

A more detailed examination of the need for a Circular Economy Bill is provided by a policy paper published by Circular Communities Scotland in May 2022.

This set out ten key policies which they believe 'will significantly advance our progress to a more circular economy'

Circular Communities Scotland key policies

1.  National reuse targets – this will help local authorities prioritise reuse over recycling. 
2.  Clear responsibilities for circular economy – clear responsibilities for circular economy targets, strategies and actions will support faster change. 
3.  Statutory requirement for reuse facilities – this is vital to ensure consistent reuse provision across Scotland. 
4.  Investing in local authority recycling centres – this is urgently needed to deliver adequate and effective set aside for reuse provision. 
5.  Investment in reuse and repair projects – investment is needed to grow reuse and repair provision across Scotland. 
6.  Embrace right to repair – greater systems to support repair are needed to increase the lifespan of products. 
7.  Extended Producer Responsibility – any EPR scheme needs to prioritise the principles of the waste hierarchy and support the social economy. 
8.  Ban unnecessary product destruction – this will stop products being destroyed which have not even been used once and provide quality products for reuse organisations. 
9.  Circular public procurement – diverting some public procurement to reuse and recycled products will provide a strong boost for the circular economy. 
10. Phase out single use products – by replacing single use with durable products we will avoid unnecessary waste. 

Ireland passed a Circular Economy Act in July 2022.

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January 2022

Clachworks - exciting new group set up in Inverness

Clachworks believes in the circular economy which aims to reuse materials rather than throwing them away.

The circular economy is a model which seeks to eliminate waste by finding ways to reuse materials indefinitely. This can be done by sharing, reusing, repairing, remaking, refurbishing, recycling items and their materials for as long as possible.

Clachworks' founder Lauren Pyott writes

My name is Lauren Pyott and I’m the founder of Clachworks: a new social enterprise working towards creating an open space for making and remaking in Inverness. in these blogs I’ll be discussing some of my motivations for starting the social enterprise and about some of the projects we have lined up. I’ll also be talking about why I think the environmental movement has to have social justice at its heart..  .   .   .

I moved back to Inverness three years ago and whilst I was delighted to live in such a beautiful part of the world again, I was also saddened to see how hard life can be here for many. Unemployment is high in Inverness and it tragically has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Last year, I decided to set up a social enterprise Clachworks to try and tackle some of these issues from within the community.

Clachworks will be a socially inclusive space for making & remaking in Inverness. We believe that the tools, skills & resources needed to create & repair things shouldn’t cost the earth & should be accessible to all. We have plans to open a tool library, open-access workshop space, community garden & café, facilitating a transition towards the circular economy.

By sharing resources amongst the community, Clachworks aims to lower personal costs for individuals; reduce the overall consumption and waste of goods; and foster skills development and community solidarity. Ultimately, we want to create a space for people to make things, skills and friendships. This will hopefully be based in a heritage workshop that was originally used to construct the Caledonian Canal over two hundred years ago, and by doing so we seek to honour the legacy of the trades and tradespeople that once made Inverness flourish.

Clachworks received a UHI award for Best Social Impact Business in 2021.

More about Clachworks

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June 2022

Clachworks newsletter - opportunities presented by new premises

Clachworks' latest newsletter excitedly announces the successful leasing  of a heritage workshop building on the Caledonian Canal in Clachnaharry, which they hope to occupy by the end of the summer. 

Once we’re officially in, the real work will begin as we plan to transform the site into a safe, accessible and creative space for the community. Our vision is to create a socially inclusive space for making and remaking, with a tool library, makerspace, community garden and cafe. 

Read the newsletter

Clachworks website

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