This document summarizes the recycling efforts of Jayne Wright, a mother living rurally in Eddleston, Scotland. Jayne recycles as much as possible, including cardboard from her photography business and reusing glass jars. She opted for reusable cloth nappies over disposables. However, living rurally and heating her home electrically makes recycling and reducing energy usage challenging. Experts provide suggestions for more efficient heating options like a wood stove or heat pump that could save her family money on bills and reduce emissions.

1. 4 July 2015
I
t sounds like a pretty amazing
trick: rescue empty, used
plastic bottles from the bin
and turn them into the latest
‘must have’ football kit.
Or how about this for a clever
transformation? Take drinks cans,
squash them up and transform them
into parts for airplanes, trains, cars
and scooters.
Old wine bottles into loft
insulation – or whisky bottles –
plastic into anything from flooring
to duvets and broken down games
consoles into mobile phones, and
so on.
In years gone by, waste from our
homes was just chucked into one
big bin: cardboard and food scraps,
batteries and bottles, the lot.
Ten years ago, only five per cent
of Scottish household waste was
recycled. Today it’s around 42 per
cent. But could we do more?
According to a new Scottish
Government ‘Go Greener’ campaign
aimed at getting us all to think about
how much we currently do for the
environment, if we all put in just
a little bit more effort, the impact
could be huge.
The aim is to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by 42 per cent by 2020
and 80 per cent by 2050. Recycling
targets are 70 per cent, with just five
per cent heading to landfill by 2025.
To help, a series of videos
presented by comic Phil Kay, reveal
the ‘Stupidly Simple’ tweaks we
could make to our everyday habits
which could make all the difference.
Iain Gulland, chief executive, Zero
Waste Scotland, says we are getting
to grips with recycling. “The good
news is that recycling is becoming
habitual behaviour in Scottish
households.
“When we recycle, materials
are converted into new products
helping us to conserve important
raw materials and protect our
natural environment for the future.”
Just because something has been
recycled doesn’t mean it sacrifices
Energy
forlife
quality, style or function. Take
Nike, one of the world’s biggest
sportswear brands – every year
millions of plastic drinks bottles are
chopped up into tiny flakes, taken to
a chemical plant and melted down
to make polyester. It is then spun
into yarn to make football shirts.
Because it takes less energy to
recycle products than to make them
from scratch, the environment does
not suffer so much.
What’s more, we reduce the need
to consume natural resources,
cutting down on the need for
deforestation, quarrying and
mining, helping to protect natural
habitats for the future. It all adds up,
say green campaigners.
There are other benefits to
recycling too. For every tonne
of waste sent to landfill, local
authorities have to pay landfill tax –
and the cost is increasing every year.
Edinburgh tax payers spend
£14 million in tax to dispose of
around 132,000 tonnes of rubbish.
Glasgow doesn’t fare much better
In the final part of our Make Scotland
Greener series, Sandra Dick explores
the challenges faced by a rural family
and looks at the benefits of recycling
Make Scotland
Greener
Tips of the week
Combinerecyclingwithyour
weeklysupermarkettrip.
Manyhaverecyclebinsnear
theirentrance
Investinacancrusherwhich
willcrunchtinsintoafraction
oftheirnormalsize,making
storageeasier
One iron bar
contains enough
steel to produce
13 steel cans
13
PHotograph:PhilWilkinson
J
ayne Wright, 38, lives in
Eddleston in the Borders, with
husband Chris, 33 and children
Emilia, two and 16-week-old Lewes.
With two very young children, a
business and a rural home miles
from the nearest shop, Jayne has
plenty to deal with already, without
saving the planet too.
Yet, she is determined to do her
bit. “I’m quite motivated,” she says.
“If I can recycle something, then I
will. Not much gets thrown away.”
One area of concern for her is
the packaging which arrives with
almost everything the family buys,
in particular, cardboard and paper
associated with her home-based
portrait photography business.
“My photographic paper comes
with cardboard inserted between
each sheet,” says Jayne, who runs
Jayne Wright Photography. “There’s
so much unnecessary packaging, the
recycling bin is always full. It’s only
collected every other week which I
don’t think is enough.”
Borders Council recommend
householders put additional
recycling material into clear bags for
collection or take it to the nearest
recycling centre.
Case study Weeksix
Make Scotland Greener is
a partnership between The
Scotsman and the Scottish
Government which provides
practical ways for families to be
more environmentally friendly
56
– it pays around the same. Indeed,
last year’s figures showed two thirds
of Scotland’s councils failed to
meet a Scottish Government target
to recycle or compost half of all
household waste and faced bumper
landfill tax bills.
Hanna Plant, waste prevention
team co-ordinator at Edinburgh-
based environmental charity,
Changeworks, says, “The
possibilities for re-using are endless,
with a little creativity.
“Charity shops in Edinburgh are
diverse and accepting of almost any
sort of item whether it’s clothes,
furniture, electrical goods, crockery
or books – as long as they are in
good condition of course,” she says.
Using Changeworks’ Too Good to
Waste Guide and Edinburgh Charity
Shop and Reuse Map can offer ideas
of where to recycle and where to
buy.
Meanwhile Edinburgh City
Council is currently rolling out a
new recycling service across the
city, designed to make recycling
for the average householder much
more straight forward – visit www.
edinburgh.gov.uk for more details.
For more information and access to
Changeworks’ guides, visit
www.changeworks.org.uk

2. 4 July 2015
All of the
newsprint
used in the UK
contains around
78 per cent of
recycled paper
78
If everyone
recycled one
newspaper
a week, we’d
save over
39,000 tonnes
of greenhouse
gases a year
39,000
Jayne Wright with
her daughter
Emilia, son Lewes
and dog, Winston
to buying more frozen fruit and
vegetables, even if it means she’s
had to sacrifice her preference for
buying fresh produce in season.
“Thankfully we have a dog which
is like a living dustbin, he’ll eat any
leftovers we have,” she laughs. “I
don’t want to be wasting food. But I
do find I end up throwing out salad –
no one wants to eat brown lettuce.”
Our energy use is a key area
which green campaigners are keen
to tackle. And Jayne is conscious
that their all-electric heating, her
washing machine and tumble drier
may be letting them down.
“We don’t have gas, everything
is electric. We pay around £130
a month but the house is cold in
winter even though there’s wall and
loft insulation and double glazing.
“We’re trying to find ways to
keep the house warmer and have
been thinking about getting a wood
burning stove but it’s so expensive.
“A few houses nearby have solar
panels, but again, it’s the initial
outlay that’s a concern.”
That plus their travel needs,
makes being ‘green’ while living in a
rural area, a challenge.
Their two cars – a new Skoda
Octavia and an older Ford CMax
– are a necessity as Chris works in
South Queensferry and Jayne needs
to get around for work and the
children.
“Chris car shares with a friend,”
adds Jayne. “There isn’t a shop near
us, so if we run out of milk, we have
to go to Peebles, around eight miles
away. “The bus is quite expensive,
£5 for each journey, which adds up.”
She’d get on her bike – the couple
are keen mountain bikers – but the
busy road to Peebles puts her off.
“There’s a stretch of disused
railway between Eddleston and
Peebles but it’s not been opened
up. It would be fantastic if it were to
become a cycle path,” she adds.
“Until then, I’ll just have to drive.”
On a much smaller scale at home,
Jayne has her own mini-recycling
system: she keeps and reuses glass
jars for her home made jam. A quick
scan of her kitchen, meanwhile,
reveals the children’s sturdy bowls
and plates are made from recycled
material.
Jayne is doing her bit too when it
comes to one of the big problems
of the modern age – Britain’s
disposable nappy mountain.
Every year Britain goes through
three billion disposable nappies –
an average child uses 4,000 before
they are potty trained. However,
Jayne opted for real nappies for
her children, even though she
worries the costs of washing them
at high temperature wipes out their
benefits.
“There’s lots of laundry with
two kids, the nappies mean it piles
up,” she explains. “But I’d rather
that than think of these disposable
nappies going to landfill. And it is
cheaper.”
She also kept Emilia’s unisex
clothes for the new arrival. However,
she’s less keen on mending or
buying items from charity shops.
In the kitchen, Jayne finds having
youngsters who are still learning
what they like and don’t like, creates
food waste. To help, she’s switched
It’s cold
in winter
even with
insulation
and double
glazing
Laura McGadie (inset) is Head of Home Energy
Scotland at Energy Saving Trust.
The Wright family home is off gas and heated by
electric room heaters which barely keep them warm
in winter. Replacing old electric storage heaters with
a modern and hi-tech wood-fuelled heating system in
a typical 4-bed detached property could save £490 to
£880 a year on fuel bills.
Another heating option is an
air source heat pump which
could save even more. Both
would significantly reduce carbon
emissions too.
Subject to eligibility, both systems
could also claim payments from the UK
Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). This
can add up to thousands of pounds, offsetting much
or all of the cost of the system.
The Wrights may also be eligible for a Home
Energy Scotland renewables loan from the Scottish
Government. These interest-free loans can provide up
to £10,000 help with the initial costs of buying and
installing these systems.
Home Energy Scotland will be able to check if
they are eligible for a loan of up to £2,500 from the
Scottish Government to help with the initial costs
of solar panels. If your system is eligible for the UK
Government’s Feed-in Tariff scheme, you could also
generate savings and receive payments of £610 to
£740 a year.
The Wright family would really benefit from a
home visit with a Home Energy Scotland renewables
specialist advisor who can help them work out what’s
most suitable for their property and advise which
financial support schemes are available.
Home Energy Scotland’s advisors offer free, expert
and impartial advice about energy savings and the
support and funding available. Call 0808 808 2282 or
visit www.homeenergyscotland.org
Ylva Haglund (inset) is an expert in consumer
behaviour, marketing and environmental policy
with Zero Waste Scotland.
Jayne is already taking lots of steps
to ensure she wastes less – for
example switching to buying
fruit frozen instead of fresh, and
keeping the packaging she uses
for her business to a minimum.
To minimise the number of journeys
into Peebles, Jayne should check her cupboards and
make a list before going shopping. This also reduces
the amount of food getting thrown away.
Many people throw away salad leaves sometimes,
but putting them in a tub lined with a piece of kitchen
paper can keep them fresher for longer.
With regard to second hand clothes, Jayne can be
confident she’s getting the best quality by looking
out for Revolve accredited stores. Revolve is a national
re-use standard from Zero Waste Scotland which aims
to give customers an experience comparable with the
high street.
“Mending clothes is also a great way to make them
last longer. Love Your Clothes offers tips on how to
make simple repairs and to care for your clothes.”
Zero Waste Scotland’s work includes promoting
recycling, re-use and repair, and helping people to
live greener lives by cutting food waste.
Visit www.zerowastescotland.org.uk
Make Scotland Greener
Experts’ view Week six
The Scottish Government has
produced a series of short films
aimed at encouraging us to rethink
our habits. Go to www.scotsman.
com/gogreener to watch the videos
and for ideas, tips and advice
57