Trading Standards officers in Falkirk who are leading an innovative recycling scheme have been praised in the Scottish Parliament.
The Falkirk Council officers collect tonnes of fake and illegal items seized by trading standards officers across Scotland and arrange to have them recycled rather than destroyed.
Conservative MSP Maurice Golden raised the initiative in the Scottish Parliament, asking what plans the Scottish Government has to make sure that all seized goods are recycled rather than incinerated or sent to landfill.
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In reply, government minister Lorna Slater said there were guidelines in place to deal with such waste.
But, she added: "I welcome the initiative shown by Falkirk Council and the local Trading Standards Scotland team in finding alternative destinations for seized counterfeit and illegal goods, to prevent them becoming waste.
"I would encourage others to follow this example."
Following the debate, Mr Golden Tweeted: "A missed opportunity here.
"Falkirk trading standards reuse and recycle seized counterfeit goods to avoid creating waste. Surely, the SNP & Greens can do more than just encourage others to follow suit - shouldn’t this be standard practice?"
The recycling initiative by Falkirk Council officers mean that seized goods are transformed into everything from air fresheners to surfacing for children's play parks.
Many of the goods are taken to prisons where prisoners have been taught how to break them down into component parts that can then be used for something more worthwhile.
As well as being a 'greener' way to dispose of goods, incinerating or burying goods to stop them being retrieved from landfill is also very expensive for councils and recycling saves them money in the long-term.
