Climate Café notes Tuesday 9th May 2023

1:  Concerns re single use plastics in sanitary products provided at Breadalbane Academy.
2: Concerns re vaping at the school in general, and the plastic waste it can generate

Julie C raised this. She has a child who attends Breadalbane school. Sanitary products are now made available in all schools in Scotland. Obviously for hygiene reasons there needs to be individual wrapping, but nearly all involve single use plastic wrapping. We discussed alternatives. Compostable wrapping is probably an improvement but is still far from perfect, depending on which type is used. In the long run re-usable options such as moon-cups and washable pads are good but may be more difficult for girls to manage in the school setting. We were also not sure how many girls know about such options, and whether they are covered when girls are taught about menstruation and its management in schools.


We also discussed vaping, which is apparently widespread at the school, despite the fact it is not allowed there. Concerns were expressed about the harm it can do, as well as the waste it creates.
Julie will contact the school’s Parent Council to discuss sanitary products provided and to ask about education in their use and will also discuss vaping. She may also contact the Aberfeldy Climate Café which is now fully up and running again.


Carol will contact members of the PKC Climate Action Team, in particular Viv Milford, from the Waste Management Team, to see what they know about sanitary products provided free in this area-or if they have any recommendations.
The reply from Ana De Miguel PKC waste team –
Single Use Sanitary products: Definitely the best option will be to change to reusables, however more education will be needed to explain the options, period pans, cups and reusable cloth pads.  There is some information at the Zero Waste Scotland Website Trial Period | Zero Waste Scotland
But the best option for information and more sustainable products is ‘Hey girls website’. They work specially with the Public Sector and Schools, providing education and products, see more in the link hey girls | Award Winning Period Product Social Enterprise


Vaping: Vaping is a growing problem from the health and the environmental point of view. Earlier this week, Perth & Kinross Council voiced their support for a ban on single-use, disposable vapes. For now, they are asking people to dispose of the whole vaping kit with your electrical recycling at recycling centres.

1. Regional Hubs SCCAN=Scottish Communities Climate Action Network.

After the Earth Day event on the 22nd April, there followed a meeting with Louisa Harvey, the leader of the Scottish Governments Community Action Team about the setting up of regional climate action hubs as part of the Scottish Government’s work on climate change communities engagement. SCCAN provided regional coordinators to contact individuals, community groups and businesses regarding their opinions on these hubs. Hubs will work to build awareness of the climate emergency and actions local groups can take, develop local plans, help groups take up funding opportunities, facilitate networking, ensure a more joined-up approach to tackling climate change at a regional level.


There are already two regional hubs in existence, the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub, (covering the Highlands, Orkney and Shetland) and the NESCAN Hub (covering Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire) Both were set up in 2021.


At the moment Perth and Kinross already has a network through the efforts of our PKC Climate Change & Sustainable Development team and Climate Cafes, but it is not formally aligned to SCCAN. During a number of discussions regarding either having a Tayside wide hub, or a Perth & Kinross Hub, Louise Harvey has mentioned Perth & Kinross can be a Hub too alongside all the others around Scotland. Discussions are still ongoing.

1. Burnside Toilets

Valued at £35,000. Bids for it’s sale closed 20th April and along side our Community Asset Transfer there are two commercial bids. We are now in the process of applying for funding to conduct a feasibility survey on the property to judge the extent of deterioration of the building and contamination on the site before moving forward.

1. Repair Cafe

Julia Harriman has received more funding for the Repair Café so it is covered for the next 12 months.
Dates for the rest of 2023: The recent Repair Cafe on Sunday 4th June is the last one before the summer break of 2 months to return again in September. Then they resume on 3rd September, 1st October, 5th November and 3rd December.

1. Thursday 11th May Birdie – Jenni and Isla Moncrieff

Jenni and Isla came along to chat to us about their new sustainable business in Pitlochry – Birdie. They chatted about their experiences setting up the business, sourcing sustainable products and how challenging it was, the process they went through to make decisions on where and what products they have in the shop. It was very interesting and enlightening to hear about their experiences and we thank them for coming along and wish them well in their new venture. The shop is definitely worth a visit. Lots of lovely products.   

1. Highland Mainline Community Rail Partnership.

From Sally Spaven Two good news items for the community. We have a second member of staff, Alex at the Station, being trained by Colin.
Pitlochry Station was shortlisted in the World Cup of Stations by Tim Dunn, Railway Historian. 1,200 stations in the UK have Community Groups, 100 were nominated and 48 made the shortlist, key to this is the Bookshop which has just raised £400,000 for its charities selling donated books.

1. Let’s Talk Transport! Its not too late to add your thoughts to this survey as it closes on the 11th June

 
Our Transportation and Development Team would like you to share your thoughts and experiences on the transport network to help identify further problems and opportunities as presented in our Let’s Talk Transport, main issues report. This will allow us to develop a robust evidence base to inform the draft Mobility Strategy.
It would be greatly appreciated if the link is shared with colleagues, friends, and family to get as many participants as possible. This will allow for a robust evidence base to inform the draft Mobility Strategy.
The Big Place Conversation – Let’s Talk Transport - Perth & Kinross Council Citizen Space - Citizen Space (pkc.gov.uk)

1. Clothes Swap:

Would anyone be interested in helping Michelle Mcandie organise a Clothes Swap/alteration workshop in the next few months?

1. Next Climate Cafes are: Tuesday 11th July, 1pm and Thursday 13th July 7pm in the Library. There will be no Climate Cafes in August.