10:10

As part of its continued commitment to raising environmental awareness in the School community and in an attempt to further reduce our own carbon footprint, Merchiston has committed itself to the national 10:10 Campaign. This commits the School to reducing its carbon footprint by 10% during 2010. In many ways this is a vehicle for some of the schemes already running in the School – including energy conservation and waste management.

Energy conservation makes financial as well as environmental sense. Over the past few months the Maintenance Department has been working hard at reducing our energy wastage in the School. Schemes include better management of the School heating system, the replacement of traditional light-bulbs with low energy equivalents and installing flow regulators on hot taps. The changing of the lighting system has been especially successful in areas such as the Memorial Hall where the wattage of the lighting has been reduced by 60%, and yet the quality of the lighting maintained.

For some time now, the School has recycled paper, glass, cardboard, plastic bottles and tin cans. Being involved in the 10:10 Campaign has motivated us to think more carefully about rolling out a better recycling system in the boarding houses and to include collection bins for additional items which can be recycled – including unwanted text books and batteries. In the months ahead we hope to look at other waste management schemes such as composting and reducing the amount of food waste from the dining hall.

Merchiston is also part of the well-known Eco-Schools scheme and this has been particularly active in Pringle where pupils have weekly meetings to discuss targets and goals that they want to achieve to make the school more eco-friendly. Pupils are involved in litter picking, saving energy by turning off lights and computer monitors and improving awareness of Eco issues within the school.