Zero Waste Scotland has launched a digital platform to link local authorities with private operators who have capacity to help out during the coronavirus pandemic.
Describing local authority services in Scotland as “stretched”, the platform follows in the wake of WasteSupport which aims to have a similar function in England and Wales.
The Scottish platform, said Zero Waste Scotland, has been developed with data and analytics specialist Topolytics, and will “help to pool resources at a time when front line services are increasingly stretched as a result of coronavirus”.
Vehicles
It allows local authorities who may be temporarily short of resource, such as staff for waste collection vehicles or vehicles themselves, to match with organisations that could help fill the gaps. Private operators can list what they can offer for local authority use.
The project is a result of discussions between Zero Waste Scotland, the regulator SEPA, councils organisation COSLA, waste industry trade associations Scottish Environmental Services Association, the Resource Management Association Scotland, the Renewable Energy Association, and the Scottish Government.
Capacity
Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “We are looking at every possible way we can aid local authorities to maintain their key services. Discussions revealed there may be capacity elsewhere in the waste sector, and we have worked quickly to develop a system that could match additional resources with those in need.”
The platform follows on from the launch of a Scotland-wide campaign aimed to raise awareness of changes to local waste collections, providing guidance and directing householders to up-date-information at managingourwaste.scot.
Source: letsrecycle.com