If you are passing through St Andrew Square you may have noticed the new art installation. It is there to demonstrate to you the infinite possibilities of recycling with materials appearing again and again when it is turned on at night.

The City of Edinburgh Council have partnered with environmental charity Hubbub to trial an on the go recycling initiative. This is designed to encourage you to recycle plastic bottles cans etc on the street as you pass by. There are bubble blowing bins and colourful signage designed to attract your attention. The figures for recycling on the street are low compared to those of us who recycle at home. It is hoped that this project will make you think about recycling while you are out and about.

Two Scotland-based artists Sam Cornwell and Cody Lukas have created an innovative geometric installation, which will display plastic bottles, drinks cans and coffee cups to demonstrate the value of these materials.

It will use solar panels to glow up at night to captivate members of the public and further raise awareness of the issue. The artwork will be in St Andrew Square until early 2020.  

Here’s what you have to remember :

·         Cups from hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot chocolate) and cold drinks (ie, McDonald’s paper cups) can be recycled in the orange cup bins. These need to be empty of any liquid  

·         Lids, stirrers and straws should go in the general waste bin 

·         Compostable cups cannot be recycled and should go in the general waste bin 

·         Plastic bottles and cans should be put in the yellow bins 

Alex Robinson from Hubbub said: “For the first time, the people of Edinburgh will be able to recycle whilst on the move. The impact our pilot campaign had on the city of Leeds far surpassed our expectations and with the support of the local community, we hope Edinburgh will do the same. 

We’re urging people working, living or visiting Edinburgh New Town to use the new-look bins and help us ensure that as much valuable packaging is recycled as possible. We also look forward to launching coffee cup recycling facilities in the city in the near future.”  

Transport and Environment Convenor for The City of Edinburgh Council, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, said: “We’re delighted to be collaborating with Hubbub on this project, which will help us to explore ways of encouraging recycling on the go and plan for the future impact of the Deposit Return Scheme.   

“As a Council we are committed to increasing recycling rates amongst residents and visitors, and as we’ve seen from previous work with Hubbub, their innovative approach to behaviour change has made a real impact on the public.” 

Head of Projects Sam Mills from Changeworks said: “We’re excited to be working with Hubbub to deliver this campaign, combining their creativity and our 30 years’ experience in delivering local solutions for low carbon living across Scotland.  

“Disposing of packaging on the go can be really challenging. These new recycling bins will make this much easier across the city centre, and we’re excited to see just how much waste we can keep from being thrown away.” 

Sponsors of the project include The City of Edinburgh Council, Changeworks, Waverley Mall, Essential Edinburgh BID and Scotwaste. And the project which is the biggest collaborationo in the UK to highlight recycling on the go is being backed by Starbucks, Ecosurety, Asda, Bunzl, Caffè Nero, Coca-Cola GB, Costa Coffee, Danone (owners of the evian and Volvic brands), Highland Spring Group, Innocent Drinks, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Marks & Spencer, McDonald’s, Nestlé and Pret a Manger.

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

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