Enviroglass Highlighted in Scottish Parliament

The special session was scheduled to show how using locally sourced building materials is not only good for the environment, but can create skilled jobs and support regeneration – particularly in rural and economically deprived areas. Sita Goudie gives presentation to cross party group at HolyroodThe group heard evidence from members of Glasgow Caledonian University’s Natural Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (NEES) Project; Richard Atkins of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS); and John Easton of SUSTaim, a carbon footprinting consultancy specialising in the built environment.They were followed by Sita Goudie of Enviroglass, who showed how Shetland has developed a unique way to deal with its waste glass to create a building product with a high recycled content.

The meeting was sponsored by Mike MacKenzie, MSP for the Highlands and chaired by Jean Urquhart, MSP for the Highlands and Islands, and supported by Glasgow Caledonian University, the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) and Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS).

Jean Urquhart MSP described the event as “An extraordinarily good and interesting evening” and promised to help the group take forward the unanimous message that the Scottish Government could unlock significant environmental, economic and social benefits by enabling producers and users of sustainable building materials to compete more equally with more modern mass-produced products. She was also very impressed with what is happening in Shetland and is hoping to get to Shetland in the new year to visit Enviroglass.

Sita Goudie, Environmental Improvement Officer with the Shetland Amenity Trust, which manages Enviroglass said: “This was a great opportunity to show how communities such as Shetland can take an innovative approach to overcome a local waste issue and in the process produce an environmentally sound building product. We have just installed new equipment at Enviroglass, which will enable us to increase our pre-cast production by up to 500%. We hope by raising the profile of our social enterprise at national level we can attract new customers and increase our sales nationally.”