One of the products of the co-operation between the Greens and the SNP was supposed to be a deposit return scheme for drinks bottles and cans. Inherited from the previous SNP government the scheme was delayed several times but was …
Plastics’ use under pressure
Pressure is growing to reduce our use of plastics, internationally and at home. Our massive use of plastic globally keeps us hooked on fossil fuels and continues to create widespread contamination of the environment by long-lived compounds. WWF estimate that the cost to …
Good ideas on climate change needed more than ever
The world is in a climate crisis. Never has there been a greater need for good ideas to reduce emissions here and at home. I was lucky enough to be involved in the creation of a Climate Manifesto for Stop Climate Chaos …
Wales forges ahead on the environment
On Sunday a default speed limit of 20 miles an hour in urban areas came into force in Wales. A public health study estimates that this will result in 40% fewer collisions every year, saving 6 to 10 lives and avoiding 1,200 …
Environmental principles under threat
The argument raging down south over pollution from new housing developments is the first big test of the UK Government’s post-Brexit commitment to the environment. We have already seen proposals to scrap thousands of European regulations. Fortunately this exercise has …
Return to sender
The DRS is (almost) dead, long live the DRS. Deposit Return Schemes exist in many countries and are almost universally popular but Scotland’s perfectly sensible scheme has twice been a political football and is now destined to sit on hold …
Ocean rescue
There was much coverage over the weekend about the creation of an historic UN agreement to protect the world’s international oceans. There is also much to do to protect Scotland’s seas. The world’s nations agreed in 2012 at the Rio+20 meeting …
Deposit Return Scheme whingers should shut up
Despite more than 5 years of notice, businesses are still whingeing on about the new Deposit Return Scheme, due to start operating in mid-August. The Deposit Return Scheme or DRS will put a 20p deposit on plastic, glass and metal …
The environment in 2022
In the midst of war and a cost of living crisis, some good things were achieved for the environment but we also went backwards in 2022. The climate scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produced a report on …
Targeting waste
The public are demanding more action on waste, including targets for our consumption of key materials in the forthcoming Circular Economy Bill. The Bill was first promised in 2019 but put on hold because of the pandemic. It is now firmly …
Vaping and the environment
If you walk down any urban street in Scotland it will probably not be long before you see a brightly-coloured, discarded single-use vaping tube lying in a gutter. A group of charities is calling for them to be banned, but what …
Materials targets essential to reduce global footprint
Figures released this week showed that 80% of our coastal waters are contaminated with fragments of plastic, a threat to wildlife and, via the food chain, to us. The promised Circular Economy Bill must take action to eliminate this problem and …