The main aims of the Shetland Amenity Trust are
to work towards promoting environmental awareness,
protecting architectural heritage, preserving woodlands
and creating biological recordings. The particular
environmental areas that they focus on are raising
environmental awareness, enhancing visual amenity and
public enjoyment of the countryside and encouraging
waste minimisation and recycling strategies.
The Trust has been at the forefront of community
based recycling for over ten years and received
Sustainable Action Grant funding to purchase a
multi-functioning recycling centre. As recycling
activities became more diverse and enthusiasm from the
public grew, there was a need to consolidate all
initiatives into one central area. This particular
project developed from that need.
The Trust aimed to expand or develop recycling of
aluminium cans, inkjet cartridges, agricultural bailing
plastic, water based paints, architectural salvage and
mobile phones. The key aim was to reduce the amount of
these that go to landfill sites. Particular targets per
annum included recycling in excess of six tonnes of
aluminium, 80 tonnes of agricultural plastic and 300
mobile phones.
The recycling centre is a storage facility for
the bulk collection of inkjet cartridges throughout
Shetland. Over 50 local groups participate in the
scheme.
The centre diverts around 12 tonnes of
agri-plastics for recycling annually - 140 crofts
participate in this.
Over 500 litres of water-based paints annually
are diverted from landfill and redistributed to
community groups.
The centre is a base for architectural salvage -
taking hundreds of tonnes annually from condemned
buildings - stone, slates, internal timbers, windows,
lum pots, skews, for recycling and re-use in community
projects in Shetland.
It has assisted in meeting targets in the Shetland
Area Waste Plan. Ross Finnie,
Minister for Environment and Rural Development , visited the centre in August 2003.
Contact
Shetland Amenity Trust
Garthspool
Lerwick
Shetland
ZE1 0NY
Telephone: 01595 694688
Email:
shetamenity.trust@zetnet.co.uk
www.shetland-heritage.co.uk/amenitytrust/