Repair cafes in Highlands reducing waste, Keep Scotland Beautiful report reveals
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Repair cafes, mending circles and compost workshops are helping to reduce waste in the Highlands, a new report has revealed.
The report, published by the environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, highlights the impact of the first year of the Highland Community Waste Partnership (HCWP).
Its publication coincides with the month-long Highland and Islands Climate Festival which runs until September 30.
- Climate action weekend in Inverness
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The HCWP, a community-led collaboration working to reduce waste, was launched in April 2022 and is funded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund until April 2025.
Its efforts involving eight other groups and organisations to raise awareness, promote more circular services such as recycling, repairing instead of throwing things away and sharing skills and learning are highlighted in the Keep Scotland Beautiful report.
It includes the Inverness social enterprise, Velocity, which runs a vegetarian cafe, bicycle workshop and offers projects to promote health, wellbeing and sustainability.
They include a monthly mending circle with people bringing along garments to mend and work on and the city's first climate cafe with different themes and guest speakers each month.
It also hosted the region's first art materials swap event in partnership with more than 300 items swapped, inspiring venues in Glasgow to run similar events.
The efforts of Transition Black Isle during the past year are also highlighted.
They include the monthly Black Isle Repair Cafe which in year one processed 155 items with 97 of them
successfully repaired plus the first Black Isle Climate Festival.
During year one, the Highland Good Food Partnership has focused on promoting food waste reduction within the hospitality sector, highlighting the cost savings as well as the positive impact on the climate with more than 100 businesses taking part in the partnership's Food Waste Challenge events and workshops.
Key impacts during year one of HCWP include:
*147 events and workshops delivered to 1581 people; including five film nights and 13 climate conversations.
*1267 items saved from landfill, through over 80 sharing, repairing or upcycling events and workshops.
*13 food waste reduction workshops and six composting workshops.
*116 composters distributed in Lochaber diverting an estimated 12,064 kg of food waste from landfill.
*More than 100 hospitality businesses engaged to reduce food waste in collaboration with Zero Waste Scotland.
*10 Youth Climate Advocates provided with free Climate Emergency Training in the Highlands.
*Over 150,000 people reached through our communications and engagement activities.
Georgina Massouraki, HCWP coordinator at Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: "Through the partnership we have been collaborating to reduce waste in Highland communities by inspiring behaviour change around how we buy, use and dispose of things.
"The partnership is working to build a more circular economy from the ground up.
"We’ve achieved a lot in our first year and are now looking forward to expanding our programme of activities.
"Some highlights coming up in year two include a new programme of online workshops and events to help reach more people, a number of new opportunities to help businesses reduce packaging as well as food waste and work to explore local solutions for food waste composting, starting with an in-vessel composter network.
"I’d like to thank all the partners for their ongoing commitment to caring for their local communities and helping the Highlands become more sustainable."
Emma Whitham, a trustee at Highland Good Food Partnership, said: "Working in partnership is essential as we work towards being a good food region.
"The HCWP is a diverse, energised collaboration that we are very proud to be part of and we believe it is a wonderful platform to strengthen relationships, knowledge and sustainable food waste practices across the region.
"Only through working together and supporting each other can we create the change that is required."
The eight partners are Broadford and Strath Community Company, Highland Good Food Partnership, Lairg and District Learning Centre, Lochaber Environmental Group, Thurso Community Development Trust, Transition Black Isle, Lochbroom and Ullapool Community Trust and Velocity Café and Bicycle Workshop.
