April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT Big Green Feet Community Interest Company Giffnock Recycling Bike 2015/16 project, Final Report This report relates to Climate Challenge Fund Project 4074, The Giffnock Recycling Bike Scheme. It was delivered by Big Green Feet, a community interest company based in Giffnock and delivered in partnership with the Giffnock Village Business Improvement District.

Further information on both organisations can be found at www.biggreenfeet.co.uk and http://www.giffnockvillage.com/ Starting Point

The idea for the project originated in 2014 when the new Waste () Regulations came in to force requiring major food waste generators to separate out their food waste. Any restaurant or businesses generating over 50kg of food waste per week was obliged to present it separately for collection for composting rather than landfill. This was a good initiative in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emission because food biodegrades in landfill emitting methane, creating a serious greenhouse gas impact. The legislation was staggered such that, on 1st January 2016, the law would apply to any outlet generating more than 5kg a week of food or green waste. This would now relate to most restaurants and many takeaways.

Giffnock Main Street, known as Fenwick Road, has around 20 restaurants and takeaways over a stretch of approximately 1km. As waste is collected by private contractors, as many as 7 different waste companies could come into Giffnock in a specific food waste vehicle (Food TRVs), each of which has a fuel efficiency of approximately 6mpg and which cause disruption and greenhouse gas emissions on a pleasant main street. Our project sets about to produce a new idea to prevent those lorry journeys.

The project idea came from Big Green Feet, a local Community Enterprise Company who develop community scale environmental projects and the Giffnock Business Improvement District (BID) set up to help enhance Giffnock as a place to shop and enjoy . We also identified a good link with Young Enterprise Scotland who have become an important player in the project.

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The project replaces the waste lorries with a cargo bike. These bikes are unusual in Scotland but are more common in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. They are used there for carrying children, delivering goods and transporting materials. We have never seen one used for waste before, but the principle seemed to be sensible. The cargo compartment can carry 100kg and provided it is kept clean should be suitable for transporting waste.

We chose to collect only food waste by bike. Ultimately we could collect more waste but items such as card can be too big and bulky and would require several journeys. Residual waste would have to be taken to a landfill site (the nearest is about 9km away, a long journey on a bike weighed down with up to 100kg of waste). Food is manageable and we can deliver it to a local point; that local point would then treat it in a suitable manner. We selected a point in nearby Rouken Glen Park which is operated by Young Enterprise Scotland and where we would site an anaerobic digester which turns the food waste into compost.

The food waste is now collected from restaurants and rather than taken to landfill, is converted into compost.

We also realised that the novelty value of seeing a cargo bike would have the additional benefit of simply generating interest. It is unusual and people ask questions. This has developed momentum and anew found interest in waste and we attempted to utilise this to push further food waste awareness raising.

The main objectives / expected outcomes of the Grant funded project are:

1) Reduce waste vehicles emissions - lifetime savings of 223.5 tonnes Waste is normally collected by lorry (usually known as a TRV) which in general will achieve fuel consumption rates of around 6mpg. The emissions associated with such high fuel usage are of course significantly greater than the emissions associated with a car. Therefore replacing a TRV with a zero emissions bicycle should make a significant difference to the emissions in the area. Due to the nature of waste collections the restaurants in Giffnock use a variety of different waste contractors who each use their own vehicles. Contractors include Murdoch, Biffa, Viridor, Scotwaste, NVH, East council and Wm Tracey. Although there has been evidence of two contractors sharing a vehicle (through subcontracting to Keenan’s) in general there are far too many high emissions TRVs using the streets of Giffnock. Our scheme effectively replaces the food TRVs, although there will still be residual waste TRVs taking waste to landfill and also DMR and glass vehicles which we are currently unable to replace.

2) Reduce food waste going to landfill By collecting food waste separately for the restaurants we are able to ensure that waste streams are separate and can be disposed of according to their composition. Food waste should ultimately end up going back into the ground as compost in a true circular economy. Too often food gets landfilled with residual waste as separation and collection are not well manged. Our project started with advisory work with restaurants to explain the benefits of separating food waste and the need to reduce landfill. We were assisted by the Waste (Scotland) Regulations which on January 1 st 2016 in the middle of our project introduced a new tighter regime for disposing of food waste and which made it an offence for restaurants not to dispose of food waste separately.

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April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT

3) Increase volunteer activity We have been recording volunteer hours and noting the new volunteers who have applied to work with the project. To date the volunteer numbers are 16, but we expect this to grow as more regular pick-ups take place. In addition to cyclists who ride the bike, we have had volunteer help from: administrator, compost tuition, public relations and press release, photographer, training.

4) Increase compost provision Our collection of food waste is turned into compost through 100% natural processes. We will use a Rocket digester and as a backup a Hot Bin. Both are certified safe and comply with health and safety standards, both are easy to use and both have the ability to turn cooked food, bones, meats and fats and vegetable matter into good quality compost. The only additive required is woodchip – a natural material which we are currently collecting for free from recent tree felling’s in Rouken Glen Park.

5) Raise awareness of benefits of reducing food waste

Our project has additional benefits to the technical aspects noted above. It has raised awareness and generated momentum. We wanted to build on this and introduce additional food waste awareness issues alongside the food collections while we had the interest of the restaurants and the public. We proposed a series of seminars and workshops, working closely with the current government backed schemes to reduce food waste.

Headline Achievements

Overall Project Summary

The Recycling Bike project is playing a key and high profile role in turning food waste into compost in the Giffnock area of . perhaps the greatest pleasure is in hearing the reaction of community members, from the restaurant owners and the public. Every reaction has been positive – the bikes are highly visible and draw attention, and when we explain what we’re doing and why, we have had 100% positive reaction. The only negative has been one take away which said they would not join the project as they are already tied into a waste contract.

The principle of riding a bike, picking up the waste and taking it to a compost maker has been simple. We have planned for many potential incidents – what if a bag splits and we spill food waste on the ground etc. Fortunately we have not had to put any of our emergency procedures into place, and the process is running smoothly.

However, we have had difficulties, none of which have stopped the project, but each one introducing a new delay.

Overall CO 2e reductions are not at the target figure we aspired to because of the delay, but one year from now we are confident that they will easily hit the annual target expected. And with other restaurants outside the area asking to join, we should quickly be able to make up the shortfall.

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April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT

Our first task was simply to advise our potential customers what the project was all about! Although it is easy for those of us involved in the planning and familiar with waste issues to quickly grasp the benefits, for restaurateurs, local businesses and others, there was a need to simply explain what it was all about. While this took time and several one to one meetings it was worth it as all feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

We then clarified out positon with SEPA which involved gaining exemptions or certificates for all stages of the waste collection and disposal process. We visited one of the few existing rocket sites in Scotland (at Anniesland college) where local expert Frank McMaster gave us many tips and support.

We checked out the capital expenditure items ordering a Rocket composter (with “essential extras” such as woodchip bays, steps and a dewatering plant) and a new cargo bike – with an electric assist to enable almost anyone to ride the bike, regardless of the size of their leg muscles!

Next we agreed with each restaurant or take away that the wanted to join the scheme. All agreed except for one Chinese take away which felt they were tied into an existing waste collections contract and didn't want to change.

An experienced press officer has volunteered her services and produced a press release for us. This led to good local newspaper coverage and as a result of this, Project Director Steve Taylor was interviewed for two TV programmes, highlighting the interest and innovation with this project.

We then had our first setback, when the head of the Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) centre moved to another job. He was enthusiastic for our project and we had not anticipated him leaving, although of course people move on to new jobs all the time. After a delay which inevitably cost over two months as YES appointed a new manager, we finally agreed with the new manager that the scheme would go ahead as planned. In reality, the new manager is every bit as enthusiastic as his predecessor, but he had to be appointed, settle into his new role, understand our project and consider its potential impact before he could commit. Without YES support we would have had to find an alternative location for the Rocket. We had a plan B lined up before the project started but it was very much second best, and we spent a little time trying to find a new alternative. While we received several offers, none were as good as YES which is located less than 1km from the restaurants, which provides training opportunities in horticultural skills for local unemployed youngsters, and who also will use the compost for the hanging baskets and street planters in Giffnock Main St, providing an even better and more complete circular economy.

However, with the YES reorganisation, we were told that the building that we had hoped to site the Rocket and dewaterer in, would now be used by YES for other purposes. The change of management led to a rethink and they are now moving greater resources to Rouken Glen Park. While this will ultimately be beneficial to the project, it left us without a room for the Rocket, and they cannot be left outdoors. We applied to other funds and were lucky enough to win a grant to build a new shed to hose the Rocket. We would like to thank Cycling Scotland for making the funding available. Inevitably, this led to another delay, and the Rocket, which we’d hoped to have installed in late summer 2015, was still not in place when the new shed was being built in February 2016. Unfortunately the date for installation and commissioning of the Rocket was given to us as April 26 th , after the official project end and a huge blow. While we tried to bring it forward the suppliers were unable to install any earlier.

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April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT

We have partially overcome this by buying a Hot Bin – a less sophisticated and much smaller version of a Rocket, but one which is capable of digesting food waste and turning it into compost in much the same manner.

At Marc 31 st the Hot Bin was full to the brim, but two full sacks of compost have been taken out. It takes between 4 and 16 weeks for food waste to break down into compost, with heat being a key factor. A few days of warm sun speeds the process up significantly, while a few frosty days slow it down. It has been a balance adding food waste but preventing it from overflowing.

To enable this balance we have collected food waste only from the first three restaurants and one coffee shop. This is disappointing as other restaurants are ready to go. But if we took their waste, the bin would overflow and we would have nowhere to take it. We have had to be practical and reluctantly postpone our full Giffnock collection until after the Rocket is installed.

In late 2015 we advertised for and appointed tow volunteer co-ordinators to help recruit, train, manage and clothe volunteers. Natalie Lorimer and Sian Taylor were appointed, both are local to the area and both have previously volunteered for environmental projects in this location. We are lucky to appoint two high achievers who are looking for additional work while, studying at University, but who also understand the local area.

Recruiting volunteers has not been as easy as the telephone calls at the application stage would suggest. For example, Volunteer Glasgow cannot help because our project is located in – frustrating given how supportive they were at the application stage. However, we have secured volunteers, have won further funding to purchase Hi Viz jackets, bike helmets and protective gloves (items we completely overlooked when putting the initial project idea together).

The co-ordinators have now set up a database of volunteers, a sign in – sign out sheet so that we know who has picked up waste and returned the bike, a simple bike maintenance sheet and training programme for all cyclists. While the bike is relatively easy to ride, it is different to a normal bike and we have insisted that all cyclists do a training run – managed and certified by development Trust Cycle co-ordinator – in Rouken Glen Park before taking the bike on the road. We have also tried to encourage cyclists to work in pairs for safety reasons (e.g. in case of puncture, if loads are excessive and simply for the comfort of working in a pair).

Outcomes

1) Reduce waste vehicles emissions - lifetime savings of 223.5 tonnes

Outcome partially met.

Although this is one of, if not the, key aspect of the project, actually measuring the savings is difficult. With hindsight, we probably underestimated this difficulty at the application stage.

Firstly, the saving will depend on the waste contractor. If they provide a food specific TRV and we replace that with the bike, then there is a legitimate CO2 saving. The amount will depend on the

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April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT route the vehicle takes now that it doesn’t have to go to Giffnock. We would need precise route details to work out the savings and this has not been forthcoming.

If the contractor was not sending a separate food waste TRV, and just putting food waste in the residual vehicle to take to landfill (against the Waste (Scotland) Regulations, but it still appears to be happening, then all we are doing is reducing the volume of waste, but not preventing the lorry’s journey as it still has to come to Giffnock to pick up the residua waste.

Over the period of this project we can state that we have replaced some vehicle movements, but not many. Measuring accurately is very difficult and time consuming, and we have appointed a student who will look into all the different contractor’s routes and work out a more precise idea of the savings. This work will be undertaken during summer 2016, but is unfortunately not available for this report. Without this research it is almost impossible to produce evidence to back up the mileage reduction, or to reasonably estimate the mileage saved.

In terms of a community outcome, the bike has been very visible and novel and attracted good attention. The cyclists have been encouraged to engage with passers-by who show an interest and the feedback, which is only anecdotal and not measured formally, is that the shoppers of Giffnock are delighted at the idea of waste lorries being replaced by a bicycle. This is of course an entirely predictable outcome and one of the strengths of the project, in that no-one likes waste lorries, and people will inevitably say they prefer the less obtrusive, less noisy, lower emissions bicycle. However, they have also expressed approval at Giffnock being the first place in Scotland (and as far as we are aware, the first in the UK) to develop this initiative. As part of the Giffnock Village branding, and the work of the BID to help Giffnock compete for local trade, it helps give Giffnock a boost.

2) Reduce food waste going to landfill

Outcome partially met

To date we have The CO2e value of removing 448kg of food waste from landfill is around 324kgCo 2e, based on 2015 DEFRA/DECC's GHG Business Conversion Factors for Company Reporting. However, there is still CO 2e, but at just 0.006/kg the composting factor would be 2.7kgCO 2e. The net saving is therefore approximately 321kgCO 2e

As this is based on a slow start with eight months of coffee grinds collection for cold composting and only two months of limited restaurant activity, there is potential to increase this sum significantly. It is noted that actually weighing larger sums becomes difficult without accurate weighbridge equipment and the margin for error in measurement grows as the amount of waste collected grows.

Since February 2016 we have collected food waste from three restaurants and one coffee shop. From May 2016 this is scheduled to increase to seventeen restaurants and take aways and potentially three more just beyond the initial area.

The community outcomes are exactly the same as those noted in the reduced vehicle emissions savings. The sense of pride in the area is increased which can only help boost local trade and increase business confidence, ultimately helping protect jobs. By next summer when the compost is

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April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT used for the local hanging baskets, the understanding of circular economy and the local sense of pride in the initiative should increase further. We will hopefully be able to provide suitable publicity and educational opportunities when that happens.

3) Increase volunteer activity

Outcome partially met

We have been recording volunteer hours and noting the new volunteers who have applied to work with the project. To date the volunteer numbers are 16, but we expect this to grow as more regular pick-ups take place. In addition to cyclists who ride the bike, we have had volunteer help from: administrator, compost tuition, public relations and press release, photographer, training.

Recruiting volunteers has not been as straightforward as hoped, although the two volunteer co- ordinators who have been appointed have worked hard to attract as many as possible. The first issue is that our intention to recruit local sixth formers from the two schools in the area was delayed, as they require East Renfrewshire Council approval. We have secured this, but it required an additional SEPA licence before we could be approved. There have been some other setbacks with volunteers taking study leave or dropping out after finding work elsewhere. Overall, recruiting volunteers has proven more difficult than it appeared at the application stage when our telephone research to voluntary groups suggested that we would have endless flows of people wishing to volunteer!

4) Increase compost provision

Outcome partially met

We have used the first compost produced. Although it wasn’t easy to weigh it was much the same as a 60litre bag, (compost is sold in litres not kg, unlike waste which is measured by weight). A second bag of easily the same size is ready for collection. There is an inevitable delay to the compost provision as it takes months for food to break down into compost, and is longer over winter when temperatures are lower.

We are pleased with the quality of the compost which has been donated to plotholders in Eastwood Nursery allotments. the community benefit here is that the allotments are located on the route in between the restaurants and Rouken Glen Park, and were set up just three years ago in another Climate Challenge Fund supported project.

5) Raise awareness of benefits of reducing food waste

Outcome partially met

The main awareness raising has involved the restaurants in the area that have been buying into the Good to Go scheme or otherwise offering doggy bags, and through bringing the Love Food Hate Wise campaign to Giffnock.

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April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT

One aspect of this section of the work was to build on the momentum the project has generated and to use it to help disseminate existing initiatives such as the work Love Food Hate Waste are doing. This has involved bringing food waste demonstrations to the local Whole foods market, and will ultimately involve work with the schools. The work in this area is scheduled to continue over the summer and doesn't end with the project end date. For this reason the outcomes are only partially delivered but will be fully delivered by late summer.

In every case our outcomes are partially delivered and the reasons for this have become fairly clear. There has been no example of an outcome not being delivered – either a community outcome or a

CO 2e outcome, and there have been no real surprise outcomes. The overall issue is that we are behind with the timescale and have not hit the volume or scale that we would have liked by March 2016. We are however, confident that by March 2017, we will be bang on target to reach the expected outcomes for that stage. Learning and Reflection

There are some key learnings and reflections which are relatively straightforward to learn from.

1 need for a project manager

2 too much reliance on a third party with no plan B should anything happen to that third party

3 need to clear more with local authority

4 volunteers are often students, and students take exam breaks! Need more reliable volunteering system

5 this is a good project idea which has attracted considerable publicity and received positive feedback. However, we cannot rely on publicity to make the project happen; it still needs a good deal of work.

Project Manager – this was poorly thought out at the application stage. The Big Green Feet Directors assumed they could run tis themselves. In reality, one director tried to run it in his spare time and that was overly ambitious – especially as he had interruptions such as overseas work and a particularly and unexpected intense project in summer 2015. In future, a project specific manager would be appointed to simply make things happen.

Third parties – the loss of YES manager was unexpected and while it has been resolved it introduced a huge delay. The lesson here is to get third parties to sign an agreement beforehand or to plan for the unexpected.

Local Authority – while the project has generated positive and enthusiastic support locally, East Renfrewshire Council have been less committed. It is difficult to know why but they rejected an application for funding to build the rocket shed and have not been complimentary on the work achieved. This is disappointing and has not helped with timescales as we had to overcome their resistance to the use of school sixth formers in the project.

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April 5, 2016 GIFFNOCK RECYCLING BIKE PROJECT FINAL REPORT

Volunteers – at the applications stage we spoke to many many potential volunteer providers who were all enthusiastic, ranging form Voluntary action to cycle groups to schools. However, once we got started and asked volunteers to sign up to dates, we found it wasn’t so easy.

Future – this project has a very positive future, but it will need continued work to make it happen. Perhaps we relaxed slightly when we saw the positive impact of good press coverage and TV reporting. However, even with this coverage, we still need to manage the volunteer recruitment, the local authority and other aspects, it doesn’t just happen. But for any possible replica project in Glasgow or elsewhere, the foundations have been set, and the ability to develop a service quickly will, be much easier, because our project has uncovered the potential difficulties and overcome the uncertainties associated with any innovative new idea. Finance and Administration

The project has remained fairly close to budget and plan financially. We have been hit with a late cost for installation and electrics for the rocket composter and shed at Rouken Glen Park. This is £913.00

We plan to divert the funds from the volunteer expenses budget to do this. We seek your permission to do this. There is an underspend on the cargo bike of £119.18 on the rocket composter of 30.63 we would also seek to transfer these funds towards the cost of the installation and electrics. This would leave £763.19 to be taken from the Volunteer expenses budget. This would then reduce to £336.00

Supporting Information

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