Rubbish Talk

As the new year begins, Alasdair and Jane reflect on what sustainability really means going into 2026. Rather than chasing perfection or the latest green trend, this episode focuses on practical choices, better systems, and learning from where things continue to go wrong. News Round-Up Landfill Collapse Exposes the Human Cost of Waste A landfill collapse in the Philippines has killed at least one...

Episode 92 kicks off 2026 with a wide-ranging and thoughtful conversation as Alasdair is joined by Vicki Hughes , Managing Director of McPhee Associates, Board Member of the Wood Recycling Association (WRA), and Vice President of the Chartered Institution of Waste Management (CIWM). With decades of experience across wood recycling, business development, and sector leadership, Vicki brings both str...

We kicked off the new year with something a little different — the Rubbish Talk 2025 Quiz. Instead of our usual deep dives, Alasdair and Jane handed the reins to Mia, the podcast’s producer and marketing coordinator, who put together a multiple-choice quiz looking back over a busy year of episodes, guests, and stats. The quiz tested memories of some standout guests from 2025, as well as questions...

Merry Christmas from Rubbish Talk! 🎅🎙️ In this festive episode, Alasdair and Jane swap hard-hitting waste debates for something a little more seasonal — practical, realistic tips to help listeners recycle better and reduce waste over the Christmas period. Whether you’re escaping the family for a dog walk or tuning in after the King’s Speech, this episode is all about keeping Christmas joyful and...

In this episode of Rubbish Talk, Alasdair is joined by two University of Edinburgh postgraduate students, Cait Lawson and Riska Hasan, for a wide-ranging conversation about waste systems, behaviour change, and what the next generation of waste professionals sees coming next. Cait, an MSc student in Ecological Economics, brings experience from waste research projects across the United States, where...

TOPIC: The Waste Journey of Glass With Scotland generating over 207,000 tonnes of glass waste in 2023 — but recovering only around 131,000 tonnes — there is still a huge opportunity to improve glass circularity. Jane opens with why glass recycling matters: it’s infinitely recyclable, supports the circular economy, and reduces reliance on virgin materials. But the journey is more complex than many...

News Roundup Fines for Littering From Cars Up Nearly 500% Since 2020 Jane and Alasdair welcome the dramatic rise in fines but note the bigger picture: only five fines a day across the UK — a tiny response compared to the mountains of roadside litter. England to Ban Controversial Pay-Per-Fine Litter System The government plans to scrap enforcement schemes where private companies profit from issuing...

This week, Alasdair is joined by a very special guest — Samantha Riggs, a criminal barrister from 25 Bedford Row and one of the UK’s few legal specialists working almost exclusively in environmental and waste management law. Samantha has spent over a decade navigating the complexities of regulation, enforcement, and prosecution in the waste sector — and she also happens to be a long-time Rubbish T...

News Roundup  Albion Environmental Wins UK Business of the Year – Investors in People (Gold)   It’s celebration time! Albion Environmental has won UK Business of the Year: Gold (2–49 staff) at the 2025 Investors in People Awards — a recognition of the whole team’s commitment to learning, development, and quality. Check out our TikTok  for a behind-the-scenes look at our trip to London and the mome...

News Roundup Resident books nearly 250 recycling centre visits in one year A BBC story revealed that one enthusiastic recycler made 249 bookings at their local HWRC in a year. Jane and Alasdair found it both amusing and revealing — highlighting how booking systems give councils better data but can also expose overuse, potential trade waste, or simply that some residents just love a good chat at th...

News Roundup  Landfill Ban Enforcement Paused Scotland’s long-awaited landfill ban has been delayed once again, as SEPA introduces a  temporary enforcement approach  to give operators more time to comply. Under the new framework, landfill operators can apply for six-month extensions if they can prove there’s no viable alternative for disposal. Waste Crime ‘Critically Under-Prioritised’   A new rep...

This week, Alasdair is joined by Amanda Young , an engineering PhD student at the University of the West of Scotland, who’s taking the fight to fly-tipping, quite literally — she’s a two-time ISKA world kickboxing champion!   Amanda’s research focuses on the relationship between kerbside bulky-waste collections and fly-tipping across Scotland, digging into why so many people still resort to dumpin...

This week, Alasdair and Jane start with a listener shout-out! A big thanks to Deborah Saxton from Saxton Consultancy, who got in touch after our AD episode to share news of a Spanish company developing food waste pre-treatment tech — sounds like a future guest in the making! And our favourite confession of the week? Someone fell asleep listening to Rubbish Talk and woke up to Jane Googling the sci...

News Roundup Renewables Overtake Coal as the World’s Top Power Source According to BBC News, renewable energy — mainly solar and wind — has overtaken coal as the world’s largest source of electricity for the first half of this year. While China and India lead the charge, richer nations like the US and EU are lagging behind. Jane shares her sunny holiday observations of solar panels in Greece, whil...

This week we sit down with Larry Kotch, CEO of Flybox, to explore how black soldier fly larvae can transform organic by-products into high-value protein and fertiliser (frass). Larry’s route to insects started at university, studying environmental governance and waste policy in South Africa. A dissertation on early insect operations “bit him by the bug,” but an entomologist steered him toward busi...

News Roundup Scotland’s £1.3 Billion Food Waste Problem A new Zero Waste Scotland report reveals households are binning £1.3 billion worth of food every year — that’s around £234 per person, or nearly £100 a month for the average family. Shockingly, 73% of that waste was edible. Overcooking, poor planning, and not using food in time are the main culprits. With a landfill ban for biodegradable wast...

News Roundup Wet Wipe Island on the Thames A 180-tonne “island” of congealed wet wipes has formed near Hammersmith Bridge — the size of two tennis courts and a metre high. Thames Water is using an 8-ton excavator to remove it, but the bigger issues are people flushing wipes containing plastic and storm overflows bypassing treatment. Police are even trialling “spike-trap” devices to trace repeat se...

News Roundup Fire at S Norton’s Glasgow East Facility Another week, another fire — this time at S Norton’s Glasgow East site. Six appliances attended, and thankfully no one was hurt. Alasdair notes around four refuse vehicles catch fire daily in the UK, often from lithium-ion batteries. Without stronger producer responsibility, these fires will keep happening. £500m Skelton Grange EfW Facility Ope...

This week on the Rubbish Talk Podcast we welcome a special guest – Andy Rees OBE, Head of Waste Strategy at the Welsh Government – for a fascinating conversation about how Wales became a global leader in recycling and what the rest of the UK can learn from their approach. Andy’s career spans over 25 years in waste policy, starting with a background in geochemistry and water pollution before moving...

News Roundup 🗞️ EU Plastics Recycling Industry Warns of Imminent Collapse The European plastics recycling sector is in crisis. Falling demand, rising costs, and low-priced imports are pushing facilities to the brink. By the end of 2025, Europe could lose 1m tonnes of recycling capacity. Alasdair links this to UK plant closures — a worrying trend that risks undoing progress on circularity. Plastic...

News Roundup KKR Set to Sell Viridor for £7bn Private equity giant KKR is preparing to sell UK recycling firm Viridor, five years after buying it for £4.2bn. With a potential £7bn price tag, it shows how lucrative waste infrastructure has become — even as Viridor’s Kent plastics plant closure highlights ongoing market challenges. Alasdair notes that many UK energy-from-waste sites are up for sale,...

News Roundup Scotland’s Recycling Reality Check The Scottish Government’s new report shows that while some materials (like food waste) are recycled locally, much of Scotland’s “recycling” is just bulked and shipped elsewhere. Alasdair stresses the need to distinguish between material prepared for recycling and what’s actually recycled at home — a gap that reveals both challenge and opportunity for...

This week on the Rubbish Talk Podcast we welcome a special guest – Michael Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Circular Communities Scotland – for an in-depth conversation about the role of community-led projects in building a circular economy. Michael’s journey into the sector wasn’t part of a grand plan; he began his career in financial services before moving into the third sector, where he has now...

This week we dig into one of construction’s most misunderstood materials: plasterboard. Why is it banned from landfill? What risks does it pose? And why is so much still being tossed into skips? News Roundup Plastic & Public Health A report in The Lancet warns plastic pollution is damaging human health at every stage of life and costing $1.5 trillion annually. Alasdair and Jane discuss how eve...

This week, we're moving to the second stage of the waste hierarchy — reuse! Alasdair and Jane unpack the importance of giving things a second life, whether it's takeaway tubs turned into lunchboxes, refilling your water bottle, or buying a jacket second hand. News Roundup UK Recycling: Up overall, but Scotland’s slipping New stats show UK recycling rose to 44.6% in 2023, but Scotland fell...