Five things you need to know today Edinburgh

• Noisy Nights
• COMAS invite you to a politics quiz with your Burns Supper
• Concert audiences raise funds for Barnardos Scotland 
• Volunteer at a charity shop
• Edinburgh falling behind with recycling

Noisy Nights start on Monday 1 February 2016 at 8pm at Summerhall,

Noisy Nights are the place to hear emerging new musical ideas and voices: they’re a place to meet music-lovers, curious minds, musicians, composers and artists in an informal space and hear some of the best examples of brand new music while having a beer. They’re fun, free and your chance to listen to, and compose for, the musicians of Red Note Ensemble.

Red Note Ensemble Performers:

Flute Ruth Morley

Violin Jackie Shave

Trombone John Kenny

Tickets: Free!

Have I got Burns for you!

A Burns Supper with a difference takes place at 7pm on Friday 22 January 2016 at St Paul’s Church Pilrig Street for the princely sum of £10. You will get Cock-a-leekie soup, haggis neeps and tattoos and cranachan. (Vegetarian options available) And there is a fun politics quiz flung in for good measure.  Buy your tickets here.

In the last four years over £18,300 has been raised for Barnardo’s Scotland just from buckets being rattled at Christmas concerts held at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. Any spare change has been added to the grand total which is a huge help for the leading children’s charity.

The events coordinator at Barnardo’s Scotland Jordyn Armstrong recently accepted a cheque for nearly £4,000 which is the monies collected in December 2015 alone. Armstrong said: “The Usher Hall has been a huge supporters of Barnardo’s Scotland for four years with very successful bucket collections. We are overwhelmed by their staff’s time and effort, and the hall’s kind visitors who have collectively donated over £18,000. This is a huge contribution to allow us to continue supporting some of the country’s most vulnerable children and families and we would like to say a massive thank you! And we hope to continue working with Craig and his fantastic team in the future.”

Craig Drummond, Front of House Manager at Usher Hall, presented the cheque stating: “Barnardo’s Scotland is a great cause that obviously resonates with our audiences as they always dig deep for our bucket collections – we would like to thank them for their generosity and support. It’s true what they say – every little really does help and we are delighted that all that loose change has resulted in a significant amount of money towards the invaluable work this charity does.”

The two charity shops at Newkirkgate Shopping Centre in Leith are calling for volunteers to help them this year. The British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research stores have a variety of roles on offer both in the shops themselves and in their warehouse or helping with fundraising.

Pearl James, manager of the Cancer Research UK store at Newkirgate Shopping Centre, said: “By volunteering with us, you’ll be joining a fun and diverse team and in return for some of your time, we promise to provide you with a rewarding working experience. You can also feel good knowing that you’re doing your bit to support such a great cause!”

Any willing volunteers will be able to decide how many hours they would like to commit to and how long they would like to carry out the role for. The posts will be unpaid.

If you are interested in volunteering with Cancer Research UK at the centre, please call: 0131 553 7086.

If you are interested in volunteering with the British Heart Foundation at the centre, please call: 0131 341 3023.

While there are a dozen councils in Scotland where household recycling has exceeded the EU target of recycling at least 50% of household waste by 2020, Edinburgh is said to be falling behind with a recycling figure of around 37% according to research by the GMB union.

In the 32 councils in Scotland, out of the total household waste of 2,459,559 tonnes some 1,053,249 tonnes were sent for recycling, composting or reuse. That is 42.8%.

Gary Smith, Acting GMB Scotland Secretary, said: “It is a great credit to all those working in waste collection and recycling that such great strides have been made over the last decade to recycle more at the same time as increasing efficiency.

We are well on the way for many councils to meet the EU target for the UK to recycle at least 50% of waste generated by households.

Increased recycling has come at a cost. The waste sector is the most dangerous in the country to work in.

GMB’s research tells us two things. First, we need a sharing of expertise and knowledge which is vital to bring the recycling underachievers up to the levels of their peers. Second, to raise recycling levels even further, and make this sector safer, requires more staff to be employed, more investment in vehicles and equipment and safer methods of working to keep those providing these vital service safe.”

The table produced by the GMB union shows that Edinburgh only recycles around 37% of waste. Do you recycle? Do you find it easy to do?

***
Sign up here for a daily email from The Edinburgh Reporter ! [mc4wp_form id=”169103″]

If you are reading this article in print and would like to visit The Edinburgh Reporter website then simply scan the QR code here with a smartphone or tablet.

Phyllis Stephen

Website | + posts

Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.

• Christmas tree on The Mound is ready to be the centre of attention
• Five things you need to know today
• Inked Up:Printmaking in Scotland
• In the Company of Books with Val McDermid and Nicola Sturgeon this Christmas