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6 November 2023
Members of the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee are set to visit a leading private waste management provider, Binn Group, at its site in Glenfarg, Perthshire on Wednesday, 8 November 2023.
The visit is part of the Committee’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Circular Economy Bill, as they seek to make sure the Bill encourages reuse and regeneration of products and materials in a way that will help Scotland’s transition to a circular economy and ultimately help it achieve its’ net zero goals.
Members will be given a tour of the Group’s former landfill site before visiting its’ current facilities including incineration, energy waste and anaerobic digestion – all of which are helping the company move towards more sustainable and regenerative practices.
Committee Members attending the visit include Committee Convener and leader of the delegation, Edward Mountain MSP; Deputy Convener Ben Macpherson MSP; Douglas Lumsden MSP and Mark Ruskell MSP.
Speaking ahead of the visit Committee Convener and leader of the delegation, Edward Mountain MSP, said;
“Binn Group’s Glenfarg site offers an interesting case study for us to explore how waste management companies have progressively changed their practices and services to adopt greener and sustainable solutions which are aligned with circular economy principles. It will also help us to understand how provisions in the Bill will operate in practice.
“We look forward to learning more about the innovation in this sector, including around how industry, local authorities, government agencies and communities can become involved to help facilitate the significant changes that are needed to make Scotland’s transition to a circular economy, a reality.”
The Committee launched a call for written evidence before summer recess and started oral evidence taking on the Bill in late September. It also committed to undertake a programme of fact-finding visits around the Bill including a further visit to various organisations and locations in Leith later this month.
Further stakeholder evidence sessions will take place over the coming months before the Committee submits its report and recommendations to the Parliament early next year.
The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 13 June 2023.
More information on the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill
The Committee held a Call for Views over the summer from 29 June until 1 September 2023.
Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill call for views
According to the Scottish Government, the Bill aims to ensure Scotland makes progress towards a circular economy, a concept which “cuts waste, carbon emissions and pressures on the natural environment; opens up new market opportunities, improves productivity, increases self-sufficiency and resilience by reducing reliance on international supply chains and global shocks; strengthens communities by providing local employment opportunities and lower cost options to access the goods Scotland needs”.
Binn Group (formerly known as Binn Skips) was founded by father and son John and Allan MacGregor as a land diversification project on their estate at Binn Farm. Operations began in 1993 as a landfill site which was closed in 2016, as well as providing skip hire services.
Over the years, Binn Group has expanded and diversified its operation to include new sustainable revenue streams. The company is now Scotland’s largest and most diverse independent waste management operation with a workforce of 160 people, providing a range of waste services across Scotland to commercial, industrial and local authority clients.
The company operates out of a number of locations across Scotland with its main office based out of its 62-acre Binn Eco Park in Glenfarg, where over 300,000 tonnes of material are processed per year.
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Ben.sutherland@parliament.scot
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