Agenda item

Presentation by:

(a)   Greener Melrose; and

(b)   Weigh Greener

Followed by table discussion.

6.1       Greener Melrose

The Chairman welcomed Mr Donald McPhillimy to the meeting to give a presentation about the organisation Greener Melrose.  Mr McPhillimy explained that the membership of Greener Melrose came from villages around Melrose as well as from the town itself.  Melrose was part of the Transition Town movement which started in Ireland and was a network of communities working to increase self-sufficiency, reduce dependency on fossil fuels and to reduce the potential effects of climate instability.  Initiatives included a community orchard and practical site at Drygrange, approximately 10 allotments and community woodland where open days were held. The food group produced different kinds of food and supported local producers.  Mr McPhillimy was pleased to see, at the meeting, young representatives from Earlston High School’s eco group, which met every Thursday lunchtime and was supported by Greener Melrose.  Other activities taking place related to:

·                     Waste & Recycling – Greener Melrose was part of Plastic Free Borders and a leaflet promoting avoidance of single use plastic was distributed at the meeting.  Members also took part in local clean-ups and Melrose-in-bloom activities;

·                     Repair café group – items in need of repair could be brought along to be fixed rather than putting them in landfill – working towards a circular economy;

·                     Outreach  to influence other people and encourage new groups – including winter talks, café conversations, film nights, green fair;

·                     Borders Book Festival – engagement to encourage speakers with green theme – phase out use of disposable plastics;

·                     Transport – embryonic group looking at low carbon transport initiatives; and

·                     Lobbying –Eildon Area Partnership, Scottish Borders Council, MSPs & MPs. 

Mr McPhillimy welcomed the recent launch of the Council’s new Sustainable Development Committee and looked forward to future initiatives.

6.2       Café ReCharge CIC

            Amy, a representative from Café ReCharge, drew attention to this new proposal in Galashiels. A crowdfunding campaign had met its initial target in raising money towards opening a Pay What You Can Café in Galashiels using unsold supermarket produce.  Surplus supermarket produce would be turned into good quality, healthy food to provide inexpensive family-friendly meals.  The café would be based in the Focus Centre and operate 3 times per week from mid-March.  Full details would be on the Café recharge Facebook page.

6.3       Weigh Greener

            A welcome was given to Charlotte Aitchison to give a presentation on the new initiative Weigh Greener, a zero waste refill shop for Lauder. The presentation highlighted that supermarkets did not give much choice but to buy unnecessary packaging and so much of what was sold was wrapped in unrecyclable single use plastics.  A Zero Waste Refill shop was an alternative way of purchasing certain goods and Ms Aitchison explained how this worked.  Customers would take their own containers, or bags to fill up – the container would be weighed, filled with the amount required, re-weighed, labelled and payment made.  When market research was carried out about the idea in the local community the response was overwhelmingly positive. A crowdfunding campaign was launched in November 2019 for the Weigh Greener initiative which was set up as a Community Interest Company, meaning that the profits would be re-invested into the local community supporting environmental projects.  The campaign was marketed by hosting lots of different workshops and by promotion at community events.  An application was also made to Royal Bank of Scotland ‘Back her Business fund’ for match funding with criteria linked to the crowdfunding campaign.  The response was overwhelming and with match funding of £5,000, a total of £12,400 was raised in 28 days. Weigh Greener was expected to be the Scottish Borders first dedicated zero waste refill shop, offering volunteering and future employment opportunities as well as raising awareness of environmental issues. Once premises were secured it was hoped that the shop would open within the next few months.  In response to questions Ms Aitchison confirmed that they would be linking with local suppliers for good quality local produce to stock the shop but that this would not include fresh products at present.  Any unsold products would be given to schemes such as the Café Recharge.  In terms of assistance provided Ms Aitchison explained that Business Gateway had been very helpful and had put her in touch with other useful contacts.  It was noted that in future there may be financial help available for Community Interest Companies from the Community Fund.

6.4       Councillor Aitchison, Chairman of the recently launched Sustainable Development Group, expressed his thanks for the above presentations and welcomed the initiatives to which they referred.  He was impressed by the ideas and schemes already in place and looked forward to working with communities in taking forward the challenges presented.