Join Circular Tayside during Tay Cities Business Month to hear more about the Circular Economy and its benefit to businesses across the region. We'll learn more from Ogilvy Spirits as they speak about their circularity and Angus 3D Solutions about the support they've received to benefit their business.

What is a Circular Economy?

As natural resources become increasingly more expensive and difficult to source, the solution is to keep existing products and materials in circulation for as long as possible, extracting the maximum value from them. This is the circular economy – where products and materials are kept flowing around the economy.

The circular economy is one where businesses and consumers work together to make things last and get as much value from our products and resources as possible.

What is Circular Tayside?

Circular Tayside is a Zero Waste Scotland programme delivered by the Circular Tayside Manager, Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce and Perthshire Chamber of Commerce. The programme aims to help Tayside SMEs transition towards circular economy, minimise their waste and maximise their profits through a variety of free tools and support such as workshops, business consulting and funding. In this event, Circular Tayside Manager Vaso Makri will present the concept of circular economy, offer some examples of real circular economy businesses and present the support that is available from Zero Waste Scotland including grant funding and business consulting. If you are interested in learning more about circular economy and how your business can benefit from it, this is where to start!

What are Ogilvy Spirits doing to be more circular?

Ogilvy Spirits are based at Hatton of Ogilvy farm, where the Jarrons, have farmed the land since 1910. “In the early years workhorses were crucial for cultivation, until new methods and machinery arrived, but cattle and crops have been raised throughout our family’s tenure. People provide the farm’s pulse.”

Graeme Jarron heads up Ogilvy’s operations, alongside wife Caroline; a fusion of rustic know-how and metropolitan chic that’s proved a fruitful mix. Keeping it in the family, Graeme’s father Eric still harvests our potatoes, which grow a stone’s throw from the farmhouse B&B run by his mother, Grace.

Sustainability has also always been present at Ogilvy Farm, where we never neglect the past, but are equipped for the future. The advent of solar panels offers a case in point; a green means of powering old-fashioned farming values as well as a new micro-distillery.”

Being potato farmers, the Jarrons observed how many “wonky” potatoes were being wasted and they decided to do something about it. They researched the market and came up with a fantastic Scottish potato vodka that utilises their leftover potatoes and is distilled in their beautiful on-site micro-distillery which is powered by solar panels.

The team at Ogilvy Spirits will be offering tours after the event of the farm and distillery. These will be delivered with the help of a tractor and those wanting to go on the tour are advised to wear suitable, warm clothing.

How have Angus 3D Solutions benefitted?

A sector-leading Angus 3D printing start-up and DACC member is helping deliver up to £1 billion of benefits to the economy of North-East Scotland by bringing cutting-edge F1 technology to Scotland for the first time thanks to a £175,000 grant from Zero Waste Scotland.

Reducing waste in the design process and extending the lifespan of machinery by allowing obsolete parts to be manufactured from 3D scans allows the process to be cheaper, faster and uses less input materials than traditional manufacturing.

The grant allowed Angus 3D Solutions the ability to purchase the world’s most advanced metal printing machine, the Markforged Metal X. The machine uses the latest Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufacturing (ADAM) technology – where metal powders are encased in plastic binders which are then melted off – to create objects with unprecedented levels of detail as well as faster than ever. It’s believed the only machines in the UK to date are owned by a Formula One team and universities. None are available for external commercial use.