Greens lobby for “waste-free” Scotland
The Scottish Greens have begun a new campaign to eliminate all waste, landfill and incinerator sites from Scotland.
They are calling on the First Minister, Jack McConnell, to adopt a “zero waste policy” for Scotland.
In addition, they have tabled a Scottish Parliamentary motion in support of the Big Recycle Week, which also urges the Executive to investigate the potential of a zero-waste strategy.
Green MSP Shiona Baird, speaking this morning, said: “We all agree we should aim for zero tolerance (of violence), zero unemployment and zero poverty, so why not zero waste? If the rest of the world lived and consumed like Scotland does, we would need two extra planets to support us. We can’t possibly continue to eat up resources in the way we do just now.
“If Jack McConnell is serious about environmental justice and job creation, he should adopt zero waste as a priority. As well as potentially creating thousands of jobs, a zero waste strategy will ensure no-one in Scotland has a landfill on their doorstep.”
A zero waste strategy would require the redesign of goods, reducing the amount of packaging, repairing items and greater use of recycling.
Ms Baird said: “With more waste being produced and poor increases in recycling, Scotland’s waste mountain is still growing. The Executive’s new target of recycling 30 per cent of municipal waste by 2008 looks good on paper – but is meaningless if we continue to produce more and more waste.
“Zero waste would boost enterprise and innovation, clean up towns and cities blighted by litter, ban incinerators, create jobs and ensure Scotland thrives.”
They point to projects around the world, such as a Canadian beer store that saves £65 million per annum on packaging through a bottle return scheme, to show their ideas are not just pipe dreams.
