Having walked through the rainy streets of Stafford to get to the train station I made sure that my umbrella was packed for the trip up to Scotland. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong about the weather. As myself, Lee and Andrew chugged up the West Coast mainline towards Glasgow, the sun was shining and our discussions turned to anticipation about what exciting updates we were going to hear from our Scottish colleagues.
This was my second annual Scotland conference and I was impressed once again, with the speakers and good work being promoted in Scotland. We heard from SEPA about the MRF code of practice and how they will be active in undertaking sampling work, a slightly different, more hands on approach than the Environment Agency in England.
After an unusual, but highly informative tour of William Tracey’s waste facilities, via minibus, it was back for some lunch. The afternoon was opened by Iain Gulland, who reflected on where Scotland were on the road to zero waste and how the circular economy is becoming embedded.
A couple of very insightful case studies were also presented by Aberdeen and Hackney Councils. I always find case studies of particular interest, something that most local authority officers in the room can draw parallels with. This year we also had the support of numerous sponsors who Umbrellas not needed at the LARAC Scotland Conference were exhibiting, giving folk a chance to see and talk to some of industry’s key suppliers.
All in all, a really interesting and informative day with lots of great work being showcased. Finally, we made our way home on the train once again, this time I completely forget about the rain and promptly left my brolly in the luggage rack! Hopefully someone will be able to reuse it.