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The future is circular!
3D solutions...
Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce is delighted to welcome Circular Tayside Manager in the Circular Tayside project team. For those of you that haven’t heard of the project yet, pay attention because this is a huge opportunity for business growth in Tayside! To start off, what is circular economy? To put it simply, circular economy is “an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources.” The overall purpose is to use minimal virgin resources and instead reuse, remanufacture, recycle or eliminate what is traditionally thought of as waste. Fantastic examples of circularity include offering a product as a service by renting it out when not in use, using coffee grounds to create mushroom farms, finding alternative uses for old mattresses and many more. Sounds a bit too “out there”? Well it is happening. The Scottish Government published in 2016 its strategy “Making Things Last: a circular economy strategy for Scotland” and has launched regional and local policies in order to enable the public and private sector to embed circularity in their operations. Our local, Tayside, answer to that strategy was the creation of the Circular Tayside project which is delivered through a partnership between Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, Perthshire Chamber of Commerce and Zero Waste Scotland. Through the project, local businesses, social enterprises and third sector organisations can access free support from the Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland through the Circular Economy Investment Fund and Circular Economy Business Support Service for the next two years in order to become more circular in their operations, through finding innovative ways to manage their waste, create circular products or circular economy business models. If you are interested in receiving free support, becoming a Circular Tayside Ambassador and helping us spread the message or simply learning more about Circular Economy and what your organisation can do to become more circular, visit www.circulartayside.co.uk or email directly: vasomakri@circulartayside.co.uk
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“...local businesses, social enterprises and third sector organisations can access free support from the scottish government and zero waste scotland...”
Andy Simpson, Managing Director, Angus 3D Solutions
A year has passed since Angus 3D Solutions Ltd was awarded a £175,000 Circular Economy grant from Zero Waste Scotland. This grant allowed us to bring the latest in metal 3D printer technology to Scotland in the form of ADAM (Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing). This has allowed both Angus 3D Solutions and our clients the opportunity to use this technology in our circular economy efforts. We have managed to reverse engineer and manufacture obsolete parts for equipment which would otherwise have been scrapped. This allows the equipment to be placed back into service and extends the operational life of these key assets. This is a key focus of a circular economy, keeping resources in use for as long as possible, extracting the maximum value from them and recovering and regenerating parts, products and materials at the end of each service life. Being a Circular Tayside Ambassador allows me to help promote the circular economy concept to local businesses and support them in adopting this as an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose). This in turn can bring savings equivalent to 8% of annual turnover, while also reducing total annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2-4%. By promoting a circular economy through the Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce’s Circular Tayside support programme it brings benefits to local companies and the local economy. It is great to be part of this important journey in the region. Adopting a circular economy can release additional business opportunities, so I would recommend anyone who would like to find out more on how to adopt a circular economy to reach out to the Circular Tayside Ambassadors or the Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce.
DACC • CONNECTED | WINTER 2019
