Sheila Best is a strategic leader within the public sector and is currently the Waste Services Manager for Perth & Kinross Council in Scotland. With 20 years resource sector & environmental management experience she has successfully delivered on key projects for the Local Authority.
Recent projects she has led on include:
- awarding a 10-year contract to Paprec Binn to treat residual waste including the construction of a new energy from waste facility at Binn Farm in Perthshire
- an asset management review and developing a 30-year investment plan for all Operational Council Assets and
- implementation of a new kerbside recycling service funded through the Scottish Government Recycling Improvement Fund (RIF)
Sheila is also a member of the Perth & Kinross Climate Change Board and chairs the Waste & Circular Economy Working Group. She holds a law degree from Edinburgh University, an MSc in Environmental Management and is a Chartered Waste Manager.
Other key areas of work include the transformation of
procurement & commissioning through embedding sustainable & circular
procurement methods and championing systemic change in the food supply chain
through supporting the formation of the Perth & Kinross Good Food
Partnership and development of a local Good Food Plan.
When Sheila is not working, she is practicing drums to realise her ambition of being a rock drummer in a band. Like the Waste Sector there is lots of drumming jargon and Sheila’s favourites are paradiddle, flam and ‘bucket of fish’ (which describes a linear fill)!
LISTEN HERE
LINKS
Twin Stream Recycling Service https://youtu.be/sLAihiR5YOk?si=vnaMVaC_dio5uArc
PKC Waste Compositional Analysis (2019) https://youtu.be/Q0k4FOPmHEQ?si=by-vIcjhbb-UIjhy
Ron Finley: A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA | TED Talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerrilla_gardener_in_south_central_la
Carolyn Steel: How food shapes our cities | TED Talk
Sitopia | Carolyn Steel, author and architect | England
Sustainable Food Places Sustainable Food Places Scotland | Sustainable Food Places
Nourish Scotland is a charity focusing on food policy and practice. We work for a fair, healthy and sustainable food system that truly values nature and people.
We take a system approach to food. This means we work across a wide range of issues and levels: from production to consumption, from practice to policy, from grassroots to national.
We champion an integrated approach to solving the big challenges of the current food system: hunger and malnutrition, diet-related disease, exploitation, loss of biodiversity, and climate change.
News Items
Elleisha & Alasdair discuss some exciting environmental and waste management news stories at the beginning of this week’s episode 
Government warned over lack of UK battery recycling capacity
Members of the House of Lords have been told the UK needs better regulation and reform of planning rules if it is to develop the battery recycling capacity required to handle the transition to electric vehicles (EV). Read more here.
Turning wine waste into wine gums
Researchers in Turkey have proposed a new sustainable solution for winery waste. They have demonstrated how one of the most significant by-products from the winemaking industry can be used in gelatine-based sweets, as a low-cost natural colouring agent with added health benefits.
Digital Deposit Return Scheme
Over 20,000 cash rewards have been redeemed by consumers as part of the first nationwide digital deposit return scheme (DDRS) trial led by recycling tech firm, Polytag, recycling tech app, Bower and major UK retailer, Ocado Retail. Learn more here.
Patagonia Clothing Repair
The United Repair Centre London (URC London) has opened in Haringey, UK as part of a collaboration between United Repair Centre, Fashion-Enter and outdoor clothing brand Patagonia. Read here.
The man rescuing Britain’s ‘magical’ glow worms
The insect is declining in many parts of the UK due to a host of factors, from habitat loss to light pollution. Experts believe artificial lighting is distracting the males, so they miss out on a chance to mate.
A young conservationist has a passion for glow worms that’s second to none. He has gone to extreme lengths to breed and release them in the south of England. News article here.
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