To: Waste Strategy Team Scottish Government Victoria Quay EH6 6QQ zerowaste@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 3 Oct 2008 ZERO WASTE CONSULTATION This is a response to the above consultation from Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign, St Martins Church, 232 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2JG. Email: Spokes@spokes.org.uk We welcome the opportunity to comment on this consultation, although we are only responding to two points - these being of direct relevance to our organisation and to the promotion and support of bicycle use in Scotland. We note that promotion of cycle use was a commitment in the election manifesto of the SNP government, and that the First Minister in his recent Donald Dewar Memorial Lecture promised to 'step up promotion of greener transport.' Promotion of cycling also contributes to all five of the government's Strategic Objectives, and to several of its 15 National Outcomes. These benefits of increasing cycle use are of course wholly additional to the benefits for waste reduction of the measures which we propose below. PROPOSAL 5 - DEPOSIT AND RETURN We strongly urge the government to institute a deposit and return system for glass bottles and other glass containers at the earliest possible date. Whilst there are many arguments in support of this, one argument which is often missed, and which is even omitted in the Consultation Paper, is the importance of reducing the menace of broken glass on roads and paths. It may seem surprising to suggest that a deposit system could be sufficiently effective to achieve a significant reduction. However, in recent years two Spokes members, returning from holidays, have quite spontaneously and separately told us how they noticed a decline in road glass when travelling between areas with and without bottle deposit regulations. One of these cyclists was moving from one US state to another; the other from one European country to another. Unfortunately we have not kept records of those messages, and we are unable to recall which US states and European countries were involved. Whilst bicycle punctures are now less frequent than in former years, due to new styles of tyre, they still happen not infrequently. Whilst this is an annoyance for leisure cyclists, it can be much more serious on the increasing number of utility journeys made by bike. For example - loss of productive time if punctured when commuting to work; or even more serious - for example given that increasing numbers of police, medics, etc now use bikes for speedy local travel. PROPOSAL 7 - OTHER MEASURES Thought should be given to recycling of unwanted, damaged or disused bicycles. In Edinburgh, the Bike Station (originally founded with seed money from Spokes, and now a highly successful independent organisation) is a real examplar of what can be achieved, collecting literally thousands of bicycles each year, which would otherwise go to landfill or would slowly age and deteriorate unused in sheds and garages. These bikes are then restored and used for a variety of cycle-promotion purposes - donation and loan to community groups, low-cost sale to members of the public, and so on. Several other towns and cities in Scotland now have similar organisations on a smaller scale. The government should ensure that all local authorities have a responsibility to ensure the recycling of discarded bicycles, and to make the public aware of recycling opportunities for unused/unwanted bicycles. This would have a dual purpose, both of reducing waste and landfill but, more importantly, also promoting cycle use. Yours Sincerely Dave du Feu for Spokes