This release includes measures installed under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Green Deal schemes. It also includes further analysis and geographical breakdowns of ECO measures, ECO delivery costs, estimated carbon and energy savings from measures installed and the supply chain. These statistics are provisional and are subject to future revisions.
21 June 2018
Scotland’s sewage and solid organic waste can make a contribution to the country’s heat and power needs and contribute to further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change, according to experts from Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Scotland’s sewage and solid organic waste can make a contribution to the country’s heat and power needs and contribute to further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change, according to experts from Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
The findings, contained in a soon-to-be-released report from Scotland’s Centre of Expertise for Water (CREW), will be used as part of an innovative new partnership announced today by Environment Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham MSP.
Addressing the Institute of Water ‘Shaping the Future’ Conference’, being held in Glasgow, Ms. Cunningham announced the signing of a Sustainable Growth Agreement (SGA) between Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) focused on finding new ways to recover more resources from the wastes it manages and generates.
Ms. Cunningham was joined by Scottish Water Chief Executive, Douglas Millican, and Scottish Environment Protection Agency Chief Executive, Terry A’Hearn.
The agreement, which can be viewed here, provides a focus for priority areas for both Scottish Water and SEPA on the environmental and economic opportunities of a circular economy and builds on the organisation’s work to recycle over 115 thousand tonnes of organic material from waste water for use as a fuel, soil conditioner or fertiliser.
The partnership will contribute to the Scottish Government’s Energy Strategy core objective of decarbonisation of energy by 2050, and will also help towards achieving the carbon emissions reduction target of 80% by 2050 set out by the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan.
SGAs are voluntary, formal agreements with SEPA, which focus on exploring new and innovative ways to improve environmental performance and focus on practical actions that deliver environmental, social and economic success. They are a core component of the delivery of SEPA’s Regulatory Strategy, One Planet Prosperity.
Under the agreement, SEPA and Scottish Water have pledged to develop, trial and then seek to deliver, innovative ways of:
Scottish Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Roseanna Cunningham MSP, said:
“I am pleased to welcome this agreement which will see two public bodies work in partnership to tackle the challenges of delivering a cleaner and greener Scotland in the 21st Century. It will look for innovative ways to deliver more sustainable wastewater services, and to recover and recycle the resources that are contained within Scotland’s sewage.”
Douglas Millican, Chief Executive of Scottish Water, said:
“Scottish Water contributes significantly to the country’s wider economic landscape in a number of ways. Innovation and being as sustainable as possible to ensure we maximise our resources to benefit customers underpins our activity as an organisation. We manage almost a billion litres a day of waste water through our sewage network and in our treatment works. We believe there is significant potential to release further economic value from that and will work with SEPA to understand how it can be delivered.
“By being forward thinking in our approaches to achieving further value from waste water, smartly managing rain water flows into our sewer networks and protecting and harnessing our water environment, we can look ahead to the future with confidence. As we deliver services for customers, we want to do so by making ever more sustainable choices for society and the environment and to reduce our reliance on resources, maximise the recovery of value where possible and minimise our environmental impacts.”
Terry A’Hearn, SEPA’s Chief Executive, added:
“The scale of environmental challenge facing humanity is enormous, with a real urgency to act. Every day SEPA works to protect and enhance Scotland’s environment by helping communities and businesses thrive within the resources of our planet. We call this One Planet Prosperity.
“We are committed to helping all Scottish businesses to meet the environmental laws in Scotland, and we want to help as many Scottish businesses as possible go even further by helping them find profitable ways to go beyond what the law requires in reducing their use of energy, water and materials and the amount of waste they produce.
“This Sustainable Growth Agreement is an example of our commitment and a milestone for environmental management in Scotland. We will support Scottish Water to find and take opportunities to comply with regulatory requirements and to go beyond compliance in ways that enhance the environment, minimise resource use and maximise long-term social and economic benefits.”
ENDS
SCOTTISH WATER
For further information please contact the Scottish Water press office on 01383 848236 or Keith Sinclair, Media Manager, on 0141 414 7186 or at keith.sinclair@scottishwater.co.uk.
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SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY
SEPA Media Desk: 01786 45 25 65
Out of Hours Media Officer: 01698 839028
media@sepa.org.uk I www.media.sepa.org.uk I @ScottishEPA
The Environment Agency publish permits that they issue under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
This decision includes the permit and decision document for:
Sellafield Magazine takes you behind the scenes at the Sellafield site and the work of Sellafield Ltd.
In this issue:
River coarse fishing is back in full swing following the three month close season from 15 March to 15 June.
And to kick off the new season Environment Agency Fisheries Enforcement officers in the North East carried out a weekend blitz to ensure anglers were abiding by the law.
Patrols on Saturday saw the team patrol 43 rivers and stillwaters in the region by land and boat checking a total of 185 anglers, with five rod licence offences detected.
During the three-month close season the North East team carried out 87 patrols detecting 26 close season and 7 rod licence offences.
Rachael Caldwell, Enforcement Team Leader in North East, said:
Our enforcement team is really proactive in carrying out patrols to prevent and detect rod licence and other associated offences.
They have a close relationship with partners and act on information and intelligence to target patrols to the right areas and at the right time. This is reflected in the close season figures, which are some of the best in the country. Law abiding anglers can be reassured our teams are taking action.
Across the country, the Environment Agency reported 87 close season offences during the first 10 weeks of the annual restricted period for coarse fish. Officers carried out 729 targeted patrols, also detecting 115 other offences, mainly unlicensed fishing, but also several illegally set traps.
As well as working with partners at the police and angling clubs, the Environment Agency was supported across the country by Angling Trust Voluntary Bailiff Service members on Operation CLAMPDOWN. Now in its sixth year, the operation is a joint initiative between the Environment Agency, Angling Trust’s Fisheries Enforcement Support Service and police forces, aimed at gathering intelligence about illegal fishing.
Dilip Sarkar MBE, Angling Trust National Enforcement Manager, said:
These figures show that during Operation CLAMPDOWN 6 Volunteer Bailiffs throughout England are demonstrating their massive commitment to protecting fish and fisheries and cracking down on illegal fishing. All anglers can help this process, in fact – at any time of year – by reporting information and offences in progress to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60, or the police on 101/999 as appropriate.
The summer is a great time to get out there and go fishing, but the Environment Agency is reminding anglers to make sure they have a fishing licence before they go. Rachael added:
It’s a great time to go fishing. So I’d encourage anglers to get out there, enjoy yourselves fishing and make sure you are doing the right thing.
The vast majority of anglers fish legally; sadly there are a small number who cheat others by fishing during the close season. It is still possible for anglers to fish during this time on many stillwaters and canals, which are open all year round.
We respond to the intelligence we receive about illegal fishing by ensuring our patrols are targeted at the right places – and the right people.
You can buy a licence online and don’t forget that all fishing licence income is used to fund work to protect, improve and develop fisheries, fish habitats and angling. If you want to fish a new river this season, why not visit the fishinginfo website to find details of different venues, river levels and angling clubs.
Anyone who suspects illegal fishing to be taking place should report the matter to the Environment Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.