'Environment must be at the heart of waste management'

Speaker from Scotland has advice for local authorities

Local authorities need to put the environment at the heart of their waste management strategies, and encourage consumers to follow suit.

That’s according to Charlie Devine from Zero Waste Scotland, a Scottish government initiative to help households and businesses reduce, reuse and recycle more material.

Mr Devine gave a talk last night (10 September) at the Manx Legion Club, on how Scotland deals with its waste, with a focus on the more remote areas of the country.

He’ll be taking part in a seminar tomorrow with groups of commissioners and officials from the Department of Infrastructure to explore the issue.

There were around thirty members of the public at the event, including several local authority members, but no representatives from government.

The presentation was organised by Zero Waste Mann, a local group which seeks to encourage people to view materials as ‘resources, rather than rubbish’.

Kerbside recycling in Scotland is a legal requirement, but in the Isle of Man only two local authorities offer the service. Plans are afoot however in the west of the Island to reintroduce the pick-up scheme across multiple jurisdictions.

Mr Devine told the audience that waste strategies need to focus on changing consumer attitudes, building community partnerships, and making clear what can and can’t be recycled.