Zero Waste Scotland

Welcome to a new chapter for Zero Waste Scotland. Our new Corporate Plan is a collective call to #RewireTheEconomy to circularity. Our Chief Executive Iain Gulland visited Adam Smith's Panmure House in Edinburgh, the home of Scotland’s foremost economist Adam Smith, to reflect on why we must take bold action in order to tackle the climate crisis 📽️. Read our Corporate Plan here: https://ow.ly/wr8C50U14O5

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre’s 11th Annual Conference is taking place on 12th and 13th March. The conference brings together over 400 biobased industry professionals, researchers, policymakers, and supporting organisations to hear talks, case studies, panel sessions and fireside chats that will demystify the process of partnering for success and point the way to the ultimate goal of getting innovative, bio-based, products to market. Find out more and get your tickets: https://lnkd.in/eau6sd6X #IbioIC25

We all want to do our bit for the environment, but pupils at Clepington Primary in Dundee are going one further to tackle plastic pollution and boost recycling. Pupils quizzed Zero Waste Scotland colleagues about how they're tackling single-use plastics and how STEM solutions, including the incoming deposit return scheme, could help in future. The young engineers now plan to design their own prototype reverse vending machine to help their peers engage with reuse and recycling, before entering their innovation into international STEM competition, FIRST LEGO League.

Change can come in the form of radical and large scale changes in policy and society, but it can also come in the small swaps we all make in our everyday lives. Something as simple as remembering a reusable cup on your morning coffee run can add up to make real impact. Are you ready to make the swap and ditch the disposables?

A grant scheme created as part of the National Litter and Fly-tipping Strategy to aid private landowners in deterring fly-tipping on their land was relaunched in 2024. The fund aims to support innovative projects that will:  - Prevent fly-tipping on private land in Scotland  - Engage local communities  - Facilitate the reporting of fly-tipping and enforcement of existing penalties  - Have social, environmental, and economic benefits  You can find out who the recipients of the fund are and discover how previous awarded funding was used on our website: https://ow.ly/9WWz50UT1mP

#EDGE25 is now open! Scottish EDGE is Scotland's biggest funding competition and Zero Waste Scotland is sponsoring the #CircularEconomy award. Apply now for the chance to secure up to £100k to fund your #CircularEconomy business idea: https://lnkd.in/dvsr6NM 

The team at Prosper are gathering views ahead of their Blueprint in June 2025. Get involved and share your views 👇

Yesterday we co-hosted an exciting Parliamentary reception with Scottish Enterprise, where we explored the global challenges and opportunities surrounding the secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. Essential for sectors like renewables, digital, and manufacturing, critical raw materials underpin Scotland’s economic resilience and it was fantastic to engage with so many on how we can mitigate supply risks and drive sustainable growth.   A huge thank you to Scottish Enterprise, our event co-host, and to Brian Whittle OLY for sponsoring and supporting this crucial discussion at The Scottish Parliament. We are also deeply grateful to our esteemed speakers and panellists, including Henry Sanderson, Prof. Richard Andrew Williams CBE, Wendy Rayner FCIWM, and Prof. Louise Horsfall, and our own CEO Iain Gulland for sharing their expertise and insights.   The engagement from policymakers, businesses, and industry experts was truly inspiring. Collaboration will be key to addressing these challenges and ensuring a resilient future for Scotland. Many thanks to everyone who managed to attend. Interested in finding out more? Read the “Mission Critical” Green Alliance report, which includes contributions from Zero Waste Scotland: https://zws.scot/4hDzBmH

How can we tip the balance from linear to a circular economy? The latest episode of The Circular Economy Show Podcast, run by Ellen MacArthur Foundation discusses this and more. Join our Business Support Manager Peter McCafferty and University of Stirling's Dr Michaela Hruskova as they cover the findings from our recent report ‘Scotland’s Circular Economy Practices Ecosystem’ including the current challenges businesses face when adopting circular economy practices and what steps we can take to tackle them. Listen to the episode today ⬇️

We're delighted to support this new initiative from Hubbub - aiming to reduce single-use cups in Glasgow and make the switch to reusables easier.