Zero Waste Scotland Chief Executive Iain Gulland
Benefits of a circular economy outlined to Scottish businesses at ecoConnect forum in Glasgow.
Zero Waste Scotland, which is funded by the Scottish government to support the delivery of its Zero Waste Plan, announced that its Chief Executive Iain Gulland delivered the keynote address outlining the benefits of developing a circular economy at the ecoConnect forum, which took place on 11 November, informing Scottish businesses of how a circular economy “makes sense” for them.
Titled ‘The Circular Economy: Implementing a Business Strategy for Growth’, the forum allowed businesses to network and collaborate and discuss innovation and new trends that would see industry move away from the current “resource-intensive economic system” in order to bring economic and environmental benefits.
To support companies in doing this, Zero Waste Scotland offers funding and support for businesses that want to develop a circular economy model, including the £3.8 million ($5.9 million/€4.8 million) Scottish Recycling Fund, which is available to organisations interested in developing sorting, repair or reprocessing capacity for waste materials, as well as to businesses in the remanufacturing industry, as well as the RETrieve Scotland Support Programme for manufacturing companies.
In addition, Zero Waste Scotland provides “fully-funded support” to businesses for them to develop and pilot a circular economy business model, covering all stages of development and working closely to ensure their commercial goals are realised “whilst underpinning the risk of developing a new business model”.
Gulland commented: “The Scottish Government recently launched a national engagement programme around the circular economy, in which Zero Waste Scotland will be closely involved. So ecoConnect [was] a great opportunity for businesses in and around Glasgow to find out more about the benefits of a ‘circular economy’ – as opposed to our current take, make and dispose model – and the support on offer. Firms interested in developing a circular business model shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch.
“The current linear economic model, where we produce, consume and discard, is simply not the best way to extract the full value of resources and maximise economic and environmental gains in Scotland. By establishing a more circular economy in Scotland – where goods are firstly designed with future re-use in mind, and then recycled and remanufactured to be used again – we can maximise the value of resources in our economy, and embed sustainability in the way we do business. “
He added: “A circular economy will help shield businesses from fluctuations in price and availability of key resources, and provide huge opportunities for those who can capitalise on the need to repair, reprocess, and remanufacture materials and products. This would create jobs and economic growth for Scotland.”
The Recycler recently reported that Scotland’s Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead confirmed funding for a remanufacture hub in Scotland, the Scottish Institute of Remanufacture; with Gulland commenting that the plan “is excellent news for Scotland”.