Economic recovery gets £70m green help

The Scottish Government has earmarked £70 million to boost green economic growth.

As part of the economic recovery after coronavirus, the government has set aside the money for improved waste and recycling infrastructure.

The investment is one of a number of initiatives planned to help increase recycling and build a “circular economy”.

These include Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme which is expected to capture 90% of single-use aluminium and steel cans, glass and plastic bottles, and the introduction of legislation to increase the minimum price of carrier bags from 5p to 10p.

Announcing the investment to mark Recycle Week, Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham reminded Scots of the importance of recycling to the country’s green recovery.

Ms Cunningham said: “Long-term initiatives to tackle our throwaway culture and encourage a circular economy – helping people to reduce, reuse and recycle – are vital to our green recovery and ensuring we end Scotland’s contribution to climate change completely.

“It is heartening to see that carbon emissions from Scotland’s waste have reached a record low, an achievement only possible by everyone doing their bit.

“By recycling more, we can reduce this even further and with 80% of our carbon footprint coming from products and materials we use, there is more we can do.

“I would encourage people and communities to get involved with this year’s Recycle Week.

“By working together, we can all do our bit to improve the environment, help fight climate change and enable Scotland to meet its net zero target by 2045.”

Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said recycling as much as possible will reduce Scotland’s carbon footprint.

He added: “We can do more by thinking differently, whether this is by re-evaluating how we work and live our day-to-day lives or by implementing new procedures to capture as much as we can from going to waste.

“We all need to play our part to tackle the climate crisis and make greater use of what we already have.”