Damage to Earth in Common’s huts caused by vandals

Vandals caused around £2,000 of damage to the hut owned by charity, Earth in Common this weekend.

Chief Executive, Evie Murray, explained to us that she discovered the damage to the shed at 7.00am on Sunday morning when she arrived to put the market stalls out.

The shed has been destroyed by what appears to be a deliberately set fire inside. The shed was used to house the recycling and compost bins which have been destroyed.

The fire was fierce enough to melt a plastic glass bin around the glass bottles it contained.

Evie said: “I think there has been a spate of bins being set on fire in the area, so I think it is related to that. I have heard that we are not the only ones, but this is the second time our recycling bins have been targeted. It was just a month ago that our recycling bin, which was at that time on the street, was set on fire. We decided to move them into the shed to stop vandals getting access but that means our shed has gone too.

“It is a huge amount of expense but it also interrupts our ability to recycle and it is one of our main ambitions to be completely zero waste down here. The team put a huge amount of effort into shredding the Vegware, composting the café’s waste. There is a system in place and that has been destroyed.

“So there is labour and time which will have to go into fixing it, and Tom, our joiner, will just have to add this to his list of jobs. We estimate about £2,000 of damage to replace the shed and new recycling bins.”

The team based at Leith Croft was formerly known as Leith Community Crops in Pots.

Scottish Fire & Rescue Service attended the fire, but Earth in Common have yet to report the matter to the police. It was market day on Sunday with a lot of stalls and tables to set up for people to enjoy a day in the open air.

According to Ms Murray Police Scotland were slow to react last time when the previous fire was reported.

Earth in Common was awarded £944,744 for its “Nourishing Leith Hub” project in January 2021. Read more about the project here.