Edinburgh retailers, Glasgow restaurants, and Alloa industrial parks are amongst businesses in Scotland who are joining forces to recycle more and save on costs.

The projects are being showcased by the Scottish Government after a landmark step towards creating a zero waste society in Scotland was taken yesterday, when new Waste (Scotland) Regulations were passed by the Scottish Parliament.

The Waste (Scotland) Regulations will require all businesses to separate paper and card, plastic, metal and glass for recycling by January 2014. Businesses that produce more than 5kg of food waste per week will also need to separate this for collection.

Householders are also set to see changes as a result of the regulations as councils will increase kerbside services to include separate collections for paper and card, plastic, metal, glass and, with the exception of rural areas, food too.

To support the changes required by the regulations, Zero Waste Scotland will be investing £8 million in councils and commercial waste management firms this year, including £5 million to support the roll-out of new food waste collections and £750,000 to help increase the availability of collection services to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs.)

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Zero Waste Scotland is also supporting collaborative approaches to recycling collections, designed to make it easier and cheaper for SMEs to recycle by working together. Pilot projects are underway in Bathgate, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Alloa, and Dumfries and Galloway.

In Glasgow, the Glasgow Restaurant Association is taking forward plans to bring its 84 members together to recycle food waste at reduced cost.

Essential Edinburgh, a Business Improvement District (BID) representing 600 levy payers, aims to work with local businesses and waste management company Shanks to let a single contract for waste and recycling services. If successful, businesses could save up to 70 per cent on waste management fees per year Working together will also reduce vehicle emissions and waste containers and bags seen on the street.

Environment Secretary, Richard Lochhead, said: "I am delighted that the waste regulations have been approved by the Scottish Parliament as they represent a major step in delivering our vision of a zero waste Scotland. These regulations will bring about a profound and long-overdue change in how we view and manage the waste that we produce.

"Innovative solutions to recycle in cost-effective ways signal a welcome pragmatism from Scottish businesses to meet the requirements of new waste regulations. The Scottish Government, along with Zero Waste Scotland, is providing funding to help businesses find better solutions to managing waste.

"We all need to realise that the price of and demand for raw materials is increasing globally, mainly down to rising energy costs, consumer trends, population growth and resource scarcity. To create a secure resource future we need to develop the infrastructure necessary to reprocess high quality materials in Scotland and reduce our dependence on raw materials from overseas. An increase in better recycling will provide the stimulus to drive this required investment and in turn create new employment opportunities and help Scotland become a low carbon economy."

(GK)