Edinburgh pushes to the front in green revolution

Edinburgh Council has become one of the latest to sign up to the 10:10 climate change initiative, the landmark campaign which aims for a 10 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2010.

There are now 100 local authorities responsible for more than 18 million people signed up to the campaign—nearly one third of the UK population.

Council Leader Jenny Dawe said: “We have focused our attention on developing a realistic and ambitious carbon reduction programme, setting the council as an exemplar in the city.

"The 10:10 campaign is a logical progression of this approach and these reductions bring a welcome focus to that work."

The 10:10 campaign is targeted at all sectors, including businesses, workplaces, hospitals, universities and schools. It encourages carbon reductions as close to the ten percent target as possible, with a minimum three percent reduction.

The campaign focuses on four areas: electricity consumption in buildings, gas consumption in buildings, road transport and air travel.

As well as tackling emissions, Edinburgh is also addressing the problem of residual waste, defined as waste left from household sources containing materials that have not been separated out or sent for reprocessing.

'Zero Waste: Edinburgh and Midlothian', a joint project between the two councils, has teamed up with the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) to help deliver a new residual waste treatment facility.

The project will work alongside and extend the considerable waste reduction, re-use and recycling activities of both councils.

They have applied for planning permission for a residual waste treatment site in Millerhill and are speaking to contractors to plan the best ways to deal with waste.

One option is incineration of waste to generate energy, which could be supplied to the local area.

Another is for an anaerobic digestion facility for the speeded up digestion of waste into compost. However, the main focus of the council is still on waste prevention, rather than waste use.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, environment leader at the City of Edinburgh Council, welcomed SFT’s commitment to the project: "We are keen, with our partners in Midlothian, to deliver a waste management solution that will meet the needs of our residents, is the best environmental option and provides value for money.”

The council in not alone in taking steps to reduce Edinburgh’s impact on the environment. Local businesses are also shouldering their share of the responsibility responsibility for their ecological impact.

Edinburgh's Prestonfield Hotel, which has won a gold award from the prestigious Green Tourism Business Scheme for their green policies, spoke to The Journal about their pioneering environmental policy that all staff are require to sign and adhere to.

A spokesperson for the hotel said: “Much of what we do is out of social or moral concern and because they are good, worthwhile things to do. Sadly it is still cheaper to send waste to landfill than to sort it, separate and send it off for reuse and recycling.

"We still choose to do the latter as we think the extra cost, time and effort is worthwhile for us and it allows our guests to feel comfortable that we are doing all we can to minimise the impact of their visit, and our operation, on the environment."

According to the Sustainable Cities Index, Edinburgh is the seventh most sustainable city in the UK and the most sustainable in Scotland. It has fallen one place since last year, however. Newcastle has risen three places to become the most sustainable city in the UK.