Circular communities
The Circular Towns Toolkit demonstrates how different towns are putting circular economy principles into practice and the benefits this can bring for communities, businesses, and the environment. Scotland’s Towns Partnership and Zero Waste Scotland have combined expertise to demonstrate steps people can take to benefit from the sustainable possibilities in their own area.
View the toolkit and see examples from:
Grounds for Recycling an innovative partnership project held in Glasgow in August 2023, to coincide with the UCI Cycling World Championships. Used coffee grounds were collected using e-cargo bikes from over 60 Glasgow coffee venues and transported to the local Botanic Gardens, to be used in compost.
Tool Libraries save individuals from buying tools for DIY or other projects which can be really expensive and often not worth it, with the average drill being used for just 12 minutes in its entire lifetime!
ReTweed a social enterprise based in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, focusing on skills development in women through the use of pre-loved textiles – by repairing, reusing and recycling them.
Dundee West End Community Fridge run by Transition Dundee and available for anyone to use, takes donations of surplus food from supermarkets and other local food businesses to redistribute to the community.
Inspiration
Zero Waste Scotland’s ‘20 ideas to kickstart your circular community’ is a great resource you and your community could make use of. It covers:
- Using waste to create local value
- Reducing single use
- Reducing consumption in your community
- Tackling food waste at a local level
- Creating sustainable opportunities for the local economy
- Creating sustainable places
- Running sustainable events