An anti-waste campaigner, who has already made waves with her videos for BBC’s The Social, has picked up an award for her work to tackle plastic waste at this year’s Scottish Resources Awards.
Representatives from businesses and organisations across Scotland gathered for the Scottish Resources Awards in Edinburgh (Thursday 4 October), which recognise excellence in Scotland’s circular economy and resource management sectors.
The awards brought to a close the Scottish Resources Conference, delivered by Zero Waste Scotland and partners CIWM and SEPA and ran from Wednesday 3 to Thursday 4 October.
“Kate is a fantastic example of the work that’s being done across this country to find practical solutions to serious problems and to create opportunities in the circular economy. I hope that she – and all those who have picked up awards – will be an inspiration to others to do the same.”
Kate Chambers, who worked with the Edinburgh-based packaging company Vegware for two years, picked up the 2018 Young People Award, which was presented in co-operation with The Vibes Scottish Environment Business Awards to mark Scotland’s Year of Young People.
Kate was integral to the delivery of Close the Loop: a circular economy initiative in action. This service guarantees that compostable packaging is collected with food waste and processed through composting. With the global plastics crisis mounting, Kate is driven to find workable solutions and continues this mission as a consultant for Resource Futures.
Iain Gulland, Zero Waste Scotland Chief Executive, scooped the Outstanding Contribution Award.
The full list of 2018 winners are as follows:
- Young People Award: Kate Chambers
- Best Food Waste Initiative: Dundee & Angus College
- Circular Economy Initiative: Renewable Parts ltd – Refurbishment Centre
- Innovation Award: ASLEE – ENBIO
- Best Partnership Initiative Award: ‘Love Your Gadgets’ – a consortium of Falkirk Council, LAMH Recycle, Re-tek, Valpak and XS Resources
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said: “I’m thrilled and honoured to be recognised by so many of my peers at such an important industry platform as this. It means a lot to me, but this is an award for more than me as an individual – it’s an award for all my colleagues at Zero waste Scotland, the many partners we work with and others who support us, notably in Scottish Government, without whom our vision to progress a Circular Economy in Scotland would not be possible.”
Iain continued: “It’s great to see young people engaging with the fight against waste and making a real difference. Young people have the biggest stake in tackling climate change and all the young entrants should be lauded for their efforts to make Scotland more sustainable.
“Kate is a fantastic example of the work that’s being done across this country to find practical solutions to serious problems and to create opportunities in the circular economy. I hope that she – and all those who have picked up awards – will be an inspiration to others to do the same.”
Dr Nicki Souter, chair of the CIWM Scotland Centre, said: “CIWM’s mission is to support excellence and professionalism across the resources and waste sector. We are delighted to see that this year’s award winners are making a real difference in important areas including food waste, reuse, and other circular economy initiatives and demonstrate a strong commitment to skills, innovation and partnership working.”
To find out more about the awards click here