President's Blog - 10 June 2010

FARMING TO BENEFIT FROM SCOTLAND'S FIRST ZERO WASTE PLAN
   
The Scottish Government has set the nation on the road to becoming a zero waste society by announcing a series of tough new targets and measures to capture the maximum value from different materials, to conserve our finite resources and avoid landfill.

I was delighted to attend the launch of Scotland's Zero Waste Plan - a real statement of intent that sets out key actions to tackle the near 20 million tonnes of waste produced by Scotland every year.   Click on the link below to view Scottish Government's own video of the launch and my own comments.  

The Zero Waste Plan proposes a new way of looking at the materials Scotland produces - recognising everything designed, produced and used is a resource which has a value. It will introduce radical new measures, including:

• Landfill bans for specific waste types
• Separate collections of specific waste types, including food (to avoid contaminating other materials)
• Two new targets that will apply to all waste: 70 per cent target recycled, and minimum 5 per cent sent to landfill, both by 2025

Scottish farming already has an improving record on recycling.   As a Union we have an affinity deal with Solway Recycling - a company now turning our silage wrap into planters, garden furniture and chicken coops.

We also have a growing interest in anaerobic digestion for energy production.  An issue around on farm AD is an over-reliance on slurry and that a mix of substrates going in, helps with the volume of electricity coming out.  Is there potential for waste food to be channelled in through farm AD projects with the added bonus of a possible fertiliser at the end of the process?

The scope that the Zero Waste Plan sets out for a step change in the development of AD, is clear.  A huge environmental and financial win can secured by reducing the amount of food waste that goes to landfill and turning this into a valuable, cheaper energy resource which can be used on farm.  The capture of methane for heat and electricity, as well as the provision of a resource to reduce the use of artificial fertilisers, is hugely attractive.  It will help build on the steps farming has already taken to reduce its environmental impact.

For a copy of Scotland's Zero Waste Plan, please visit www.scotland.gov.uk/zerowasteplan
 
For further information on Zero Waste Scotland, please visit http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/