City’s first recycle zone unveiled at St. Enoch

Friday, January 08, 2010

A new scheme aimed at helping reduce Scotland's carbon emissions and increase public awareness of recycling was today launched in Glasgow's St Enoch Centre by Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment.

The Recycle Zone project is a partnership between Coca-Cola Enterprises, WRAP Scotland, RECOUP and St. Enoch Centre and is the first of its kind to be launched in Glasgow City Centre.

Located in the St. Enoch Centre, which recently revealed the first phase of its £100m redevelopment, the Recycle Zone will allow the public to deposit cans, plastic bottles, paper and general waste for recycling.

St. Enoch General Manager, Susan Nicol commented:
"Last year alone shoppers at St. Enoch Centre bought 74,000 bottles and cans out of the 14 vending machines we have in the Centre - and we're expecting that figure to increase as the Centre expands. If every one of those bottles and cans were deposited at the Recycle Zone, not only would it divert almost 2 tonnes of waste from landfill each year, it would also achieve a carbon saving of almost 8 tonnes.

"It is little steps like this that can have a big effect on our environment, and I am delighted that St. Enoch Centre has been chosen as the first place in Glasgow to spearhead this initiative."

In the first week of the redeveloped St Enoch Centre opening its doors, more than 500,000 visitors came into the mall, and by Christmas Day this figure had risen to more than two million.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
More… 2 "The beginning of a new year is a good time for the public to adopt a new commitment to our environment by recycling more.

"This new initiative is exactly what will help make Glasgow a cleaner and greener city.

"The Scottish Government has dedicated targets to reduce the nation's waste to landfill and this new initiative to recycle on the go really adds to our Zero Waste vision. We recycle at home, at work and now we have the facilities to recycle while out and about. I would urge everyone to make good and proper use of this facility to help make Scotland a Zero Waste society."

Coca-Cola Enterprises' regional vice president corporate affairs, Erika Coghlan, added:

"Whilst people are recycling more at home it has not been easy for them to recycle when they are out and about. Recycle Zones help people to recycle exactly when they need to - just when they have finished their drink. We currently have 40 zones live across the UK and we are committed to delivering a total of 80 zones by 2011."

Iain Gulland, WRAP Director for Scotland, concluded:

"WRAP is supporting the investment in facilities that enable people to recycle away from home. It is great to see a high profile venue like the St. Enoch Centre taking the lead like this and we hope to see many other major public facilities in Scotland following suit."

Notes to editors

About St. Enoch Centre
St. Enoch Centre, owned and managed by Ivanhoe Cambridge, is located in Glasgow's busy city centre, one of the UK's top shopping destinations outside London.

The first of its kind in Scotland, St. Enoch Centre was officially opened in 1989 and has since become one of the city's favourite shopping destinations.

About Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) is a UK based subsidiary of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc, the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of The Coca-Cola Company's (TCCC) products.

CCE manufactures and distributes products for TCCC as well as products for other brand-owners, throughout England, Scotland and Wales, employing around 4,500 people in Great Britain across seven manufacturing sites and a number of regional offices and depots.

CCE is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its products and operations, with a particular focus on sustainable packaging, water stewardship, and energy and climate protection.

About WRAP

• WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change.
• Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Working in seven key areas (Construction, Retail, Manufacturing, Organics, Business Growth, Behavioural Change, and Local Authority Support), WRAP's work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
• More information on all of WRAP Scotland's programmes can be found on www.wrapscotland.org.uk