What's in store at Aviemore?

APSE is delighted to be returning to Aviemore for this year’s Scotland Fleet, Waste and Ground Seminar, a fixture in the Scottish local authority calendar. Louise Melville, APSE Principal Advisor for Scotland, looks ahead to the topics and themes of this year’s edition.

Against the glorious backdrop of the Cairngorms, local government specialists in fleet, waste and grounds services will gather with the UK’s leading suppliers to explore new and exciting innovations within the industry and debate the future of these vital services. With over 110 exhibition stands, this event features Scotland’s largest trade exhibition of its kind - giving delegates the opportunity to view a huge range of products and services.

This year’s event - kindly sponsored by ACL Hire - is taking place at the MacDonalnd Aviemore Resort from 20-23 May and gives local government colleagues across Scotland the chance to hear from a wide variety of expert speakers across the public and private sectors. Topics will range developing street cleaning services, to understanding the impact of the emissions trading scheme expansion and implementing new drug and alcohol testing practices. Furthermore, as we edge closer to 2030, there will be ample opportunity to continue the discussion on Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map. 

Parks, grounds, and streets services are also covered in abundance with a dedicated discussion forum and focused presentations looking at the use of AI to improve wildlife habitats and how to manage the pressures on allotment services. 

Session One
The seminar’s keynote session will be ‘Waste and recycling services - The road ahead’, reflecting the priority of the Circular Economy Bill and Waste Route Map across the local authority sector in Scotland. Mo Baines, APSE Chief Executive will open the session by discussing the findings of APSE’s latest State of the Market survey for waste and recycling. Following this will be a joint session from Hollie Whitfield, Senior Policy Manager – Recycling, Scottish Government and Charlie Devine, Service Manager – Waste Partnership, Dundee City Council looking at the co-design process for sustainable household recycling solutions. The session will close with a parks, streets and grounds discussion form, discussing the latest challenges and opportunities for the sector. 

Session Two
After lunch and a exhibition viewing sponsored by Steril Koni Ltd, we will move onto session two: ‘Strategies for improving street cleansing operations and litter reduction’. This will be opened by Heather McLaughlin, Campaigns and Social Innovation Manager, Keep Scotland Beautiful. Heather will present data from national audits and public polling on roadside letter, as well as discussing her organisation’s approach to public campaigning and messaging - she will also cover the outcomes of a recent intervention delivered along the A9 road with Perth and Kinross Council. Closing session two is will be a representative of Glasgow City Council, who will provide an overview of Glasgow’s investment into street cleaning services, as well as communication and engagement with local residents. 

Session Three
Following an opportunity for exhibition viewing - sponsored by Stertil Koni Ltd - is the last session of day one, ‘transport responsibilities and compliance’, with a keynote address on the responsibilities of fleet managers from Victoria Davies, Traffic Commissioner for Wales.

Next up is a DVSA and enforcement update from Gordon Thomson, Head of Vehicle Testing and Approvals Service/ Policy, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, also covering the latest service developments including technology and IT. The final presentation of the day is led by Phil Lloyd, Head of Engineering Policy at Logistics UK, who will be providing a guide to maintaining roadworthiness, future standards for MOTs and break testing, as addressing legal compliance issues. Rounding off a packed first day will be a litter managers network discussion forum, covering Scotland’s national litter and flytipping strategy. In the evening, delegates are invited to a gala buffet dinner - kindly sponsored by Dennis Eagle  UK and Terberg Matec UK.

Session Four
We kick off day two with session four: ‘Greening the future - Climate-smart strategies for parks grounds and open spaces’. A representative  from Space Intelligence / Scottish Wildlife Trust (inv) will open the session with a presentation on future proofing wildlife habitats through the use of AI. They will discuss the background of the project and the importance of data in decision making. Next up Fiona Sutton - Wilson, Head of APSE Training will give an overview of allotments duties under Part 9 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 - looking at the key issues effecting local authorities across Scotland and good practice for both urban and rural communities. 

Closing session four is the transport advisory discussion forum- Sponsored by Enterprise - focusing on fleet decarbonisation and the Public Sector Action Plan with a representative from Transport Scotland. 

Session Five
Session five will be covering the important topic of navigating drug and alcohol policies, including understanding testing regimes and their impact. This will begin with Louise Melville, APSE Principal Advisor exploring a number of local authority case study scenarios - demonstrating the complexity of the policy landscape. Following on will be a representative from William Hamilton & Sons, looking at how to ensure driver wellbeing and safe operations. 

Next up are Josh Klein-Davies, Field Sales Executive and Terry Elvin, Head of UK Sales, from Intelligent Fingerprinting, who will outline how councils can enhance workplace safety through robust drug and alcohol policies, as well as discussing the range of drug testing solutions available - including fingerprint testing. Session five will be concluded with a waste discussion forum - continuing the discussion on the circular economy and Waste Route Map for 2030.

Following lunch and an exhibition viewing - sponsored by DAF Trucks Ltd - we will go into the final session of the seminar, returning to the topic of waste and recycling. Louise Cowan, Strategy Director - Climate, Local Partnerships, will give a UK-wide perspective on future waste challenges, including future compositons and planning for change. A representative from Zero Waste Scotland will continue this theme with a presentation on how local authorities can tackle overconsumption and create a more sustainable future. David Robertson will finish the session with a discussion on the impact of the eimssions trading scheme being extended to include thermal waste treatment and the impact this will have on local authorities. 

On the evening of Thursday 22 May, APSE will be holding an evening reception - sponsored by Whale Tankers - followed by a charity dinner - sponsored by FAUN - Zoeller (UK) Limited. After dinner, we will be holding the APSE Striving for Excellence Awards - sponsored by Bucher Municipal and Econ Engineering Ltd, celebrating the hard work and success of local authority services in Scotland.

Besides providing ample opportunities for learning through our Seminar sessions, APSE Scotland’s Fleet, Waste and Grounds Seminar is a key event for local government decision-makers and heads of service to come together and share best practice while providing the opportunity – via the largest Scottish trade exhibition of its kind – to get to terms with the latest technological developments in fleet, equipment and ancillary supplies; from salt spreaders to asset management software. It is a space in which new partnerships can be developed to transform and enhance local government frontline services.

To learn more about the APSE Scotland Fleet, Waste and Grounds Seminar, please visit the APSE website or contact Louise Melville on 01698 459051