Building Briefs - November 10th
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- Perthshire Ecopark hosts UK design sustainability event
Glenfarg-based Binn Ecopark has hosted a COP26-inspired sustainability workshop in partnership with Design Council, the UK government’s national advisor on design.
The event, attended by representatives from local business, community groups and a range of designers from across the UK, precedes the Council’s Design for Planet Festival being held at V&A Dundee this week.
Leading the visit was Design Council partner and URGE Collective co-founder Sophie Thomas. Following a group tour of Binn Ecopark’s state-of-the-art recycling and resource management facilities, Ms Thomas led a workshop highlighting how end-of-life waste materials can be reutilised in design projects, promoting greater sustainability and closing the loop of circular processes.
Binn Group is a family run business employing 145 people across its operations in Perthshire. This includes its 200-acre Binn Ecopark. a low-carbon, next generation resource recovery complex. The circular economy site, focused on waste management, renewable energy and low carbon eco-innovation, processes over 500,000 tonnes of material per year with a recycling rate over 90%.
The facility also boasts an anaerobic digestion plant, green-waste composting systems, and four wind turbines which form the core of a new private grid project. This will transform power use at the site, with proposals for a private grid connection to support Perth’s low carbon Smart Energy City objectives and benefit the wider community.
- Hamilton improvement work to begin
Measures to help manage an increase in through traffic and tackle concerns over speed are to be made to two Hamilton streets.
New speed cushions, two mini roundabouts and associated signs and road markings will be introduced at Abercorn Drive and Chestnut Crescent.
The nature of the works means that both streets will need to be closed between High Patrick Street and Silvertonhill Avenue from Monday 15 November to Friday 19 November.
Abercorn Drive (between High Patrick Street and Chestnut Crescent) will then be closed for an additional three days, from Monday 22 November to Wednesday 24 November in order to complete the works.
General traffic will be unable to travel through the closure. However, access will be maintained for residents who reside within the closure wherever possible. There may be instances where access and egress will be delayed depending on the status and progress of works on site. Site staff will be there to advise during the working day.
- SAINT-GOBAIN to invest in 4,500 to invest in electric car charging points and 3,200 electric cars
As the COP 26 conference focusses on decarbonising transportation, SAINT-GOBAIN UK & IRELAND has announced the signing of a new partnership with ROLEC, one of the UK’s leading charging manufacturers, to support the delivery of a 1,000 charger point network across Saint-Gobain’s sites, offices and retail branches over the next five years.
The agreement comes on top of Saint-Gobain’s recent commitment to move all of its 3,200 company cars to fully electric by the end of 2023 [or hybrid if only absolutely essential as a stepping stone to electric], investments in new Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil [HVO] HGV’s, which will reduce CO2 per mile by around 90% for its British Gypsum, Artex and some distribution brands and the roll out of electric Mechanical Handling Equipment.
The 1,000 charging point network is in addition to Saint-Gobain’s commitment to install an electric car charging point fitted at 3,200 company car drivers’ homes where they are able to accommodate a charging point.
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