This week, Alasdair and Jane tackle one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the UK: WEEE – Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment. From kettles and cables to laptops, toys, vapes and Christmas lights, electrical items are becoming smaller, cheaper and far more disposable — but the recycling system isn’t keeping up. Before diving in, …
This week, Alasdair is joined by a very special guest — Samantha Riggs, a criminal barrister from 25 Bedford Row and one of the UK’s few legal specialists working almost exclusively in environmental and waste management law. Samantha has spent over a decade navigating the complexities of regulation, enforcement, and prosecution in the waste sector …
Rubbish Talk Episode 86: Waste Crime with Samantha Riggs Read More »
News Roundup Albion Environmental Wins UK Business of the Year – Investors in People (Gold) It’s celebration time! Albion Environmental has won UK Business of the Year: Gold (2–49 staff) at the 2025 Investors in People Awards — a recognition of the whole team’s commitment to learning, development, and quality. Alasdair and Mia headed …
Rubbish Talk Episode 85: The Waste Journey of Paper & Cardboard Read More »
This week, Alasdair and Jane tackle one of the biggest questions in Scotland’s circular economy: how much of our waste can we actually recycle and reprocess here at home? Based on a new Scottish Government Waste Reprocessing Capacity Report, they explore where Scotland is making progress — and where big gaps remain. From …
Rubbish Talk Episode 84: Waste Reprocessing Capacity in Scotland Read More »
News Roundup Landfill Ban Enforcement Paused (SEPA Temporary Approach) Scotland’s long-awaited landfill ban has been delayed once again, as SEPA introduces a temporary enforcement approach to give operators more time to comply. Under the new framework, landfill operators can apply for six-month extensions if they can prove there’s no viable alternative for disposal. Alasdair …
Rubbish Talk Episode 83: Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) Read More »
This week, Alasdair is joined by Amanda Young, an engineering PhD student at the University of the West of Scotland, who’s taking the fight to fly-tipping, quite literally — she’s a two-time ISKA world kickboxing champion! Amanda’s research focuses on the relationship between kerbside bulky-waste collections and fly-tipping across Scotland, digging into why so …
Rubbish Talk Episode 82: Fighting Fly-Tipping with Amanda Young Read More »
This week, Alasdair and Jane start with a listener shout-out! A big thanks to Deborah Saxton from Saxton Consultancy, who got in touch after our AD episode to share news of a Spanish company developing food waste pre-treatment tech — sounds like a future guest in the making! And our favourite confession of the …
Rubbish Talk Episode 81: Fridge Recycling Waste Journey Read More »
News Roundup Renewables Overtake Coal as the World’s Top Power Source According to BBC News, renewable energy — mainly solar and wind — has overtaken coal as the world’s largest source of electricity for the first half of this year. While China and India lead the charge, richer nations like the US and EU …
Rubbish Talk Episode 80: What Happens To Your Food Waste? Read More »
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3tPABj6gJpCKNGs1tXQzcp?si=ZNbJJ502TMGFm5DEVRW42Q This week we sit down with Larry Kotch, CEO of Flybox®, to explore how black soldier fly larvae can transform organic by-products into high-value protein and fertiliser (frass). Larry’s route to insects started at university, studying environmental governance and waste policy in South Africa. A dissertation on early insect operations “bit him by the …
Rubbish Talk Episode 79: Larry Kotch, CEO of Flybox® Read More »
News Roundup Scotland’s £1.3 Billion Food Waste Problem A new Zero Waste Scotland report reveals households are binning £1.3 billion worth of food every year — that’s around £234 per person, or nearly £100 a month for the average family. Shockingly, 73% of that waste was edible. Overcooking, poor planning, and not using food in …
Rubbish Talk Episode 78: Recycling Collection Systems Read More »
