How can you refuse?

by Alison Johnson

As 2005 draws to an end the Waste Services Team at Perth & Kinross Council would like to reflect on a successful year which has seen many more businesses take on board the waste issue.

Businesses participate in recycling schemes; and the amount of services available continues to grow in order to satisfy demand and reflect the requirements of the local businesses.

Spring: Early in the year the Waste Services Commercial team started to reap rewards as more businesses joined the project, not only are they recycling waste but preventing, reducing and reusing it, before disposing of it, through the waste minimisation project. The cardboard scheme operated in conjunction with Wyllie Recycling also gained in popularity and over 1200 businesses now use the service.

Summer: 'Waste Aware Business" was launched at the Perthshire Business Fair which included the production of a comprehensive information pack and a new website both of which promoted the message that all businesses could do their bit. The launch of the Green Waste Recycling service also saw another option added to the recycling streams with florists, bowling clubs and even garden centres recycling waste.

Autumn: Recently we were rewarded with recognition not only for the schemes that we had developed but for the fact that the Perth and Kinross business community are successfully diverting many tonnes of waste from landfill, as we received the Eventful Scotland Award for Best Waste Minimisation Initiative.

Looking forward, we will continue to promote recycling services, develop new initiatives and encourage more businesses to realise not only their environmental impact but also realise the potential cost savings through better waste management.

We wish all our customers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year and hope that many more businesses will be making Reduce, Reuse, Recycle their New Year's resolution.