Independence could help create a “greener, cleaner and nuclear-free” Scotland and allow it to “lead the world” in tackling climate change, the Scottish Government claims. Scottish Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead set out five “green gains” that independence could bring to Scotland, including laying out environmental protection in a written constitution and getting a “fairer share” […]

Scotland is considering switching most of its street lighting to more energy efficient LEDs. The Scottish Government believes such a project would be a perfect use for cash lent by the Green Investment Bank, the UK’s new lending body for green projects. The plan is one of a number of energy efficiency programmes being looked […]

A new food waste campaign has been launched across Scotland to help cut carbon emissions and save householders money. According to the Scottish Government, one-fifth of the food and drink that is bought ends up being thrown away and avoidable food waste costs the average household around £430 a year. Reducing what is binned could […]

You could soon be using your baby’s nappies as furniture for your garden or as roof tiles for your house. That’s under a new recycling pilot in Scotland, which could prevent 160 million nappies from being sent to rubbish dumps. Funded by Zero Waste Scotland, the disposable nappy recycling scheme will initially be put into […]

Environmental groups reacted with alarm to the speculation that a gas leak off the coast of Aberdeen in the North Sea could go on for at least six months. Oil company Total, which evacuated workers from its platform in the field because of the leak on Sunday, reportedly said it could take that long to […]

A national campaign encouraging everyone in Scotland to play their part in making it a greener place to live was launched yesterday. The new Greener Together campaign promotes individual benefits of leading a greener lifestyle to make Scotland a cleaner place. The campaign claims that every green effort, big or small, makes a difference. A […]

A fund of £2.4m has been set up to help farmers in Scotland develop renewable energy schemes. The cash will be put into Scotland’s Communities and Renewable Energy Scheme Loan Fund, which from April will be open to farmers and other land owners as a financial kickstart for their green business ambitions. The kitty was […]

The Scottish government has commissioned a feasibility study to look into the early stage financing for renewables projects. It will be carried out by the Scottish Agricultural College in conjunction with Community Energy Scotland and will report back in three months. The study will consider whether a loan fund could be established that will encompass […]

Scotland today launched its Zero Waste Plan, an initiative to tackle the near 20 million tonnes of waste produced by the country each year. The government wants 70% of all waste to be recycled by 2025, with a maximum of of 5% being sent to landfill. The Zero Waste Plan introduces radical new measures, including […]