It’s a catchphrase that will become increasingly important as budget cuts bite across Scotland.  We can throw-up our hands in despair, waste time playing the blame game or all help each other to save money and important resources wherever possible.

As part of various sustainability initiatives at Moray College, we have successfully applied for a competition fund – from Lloyds Banking Group and the College Development Network – that enables us to offer cash prizes for those with the best ideas, as well as communication skills. 

We’re looking for two-minute videos or radio adverts, bullet-pointed lists or text messages, websites or posters that successfully pass on to your fellow-citizens, tips and advice on the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” theme.  These should be aimed at the local context, whilst tying in with the excellent advice available from government sources.  For example, did you know that every tonne of waste in landfill costs Moray Council £64, a price tag set to keep on rising?  Why do people keep buying bottled water when they could just re-fill for free at the nearest tap, or water cooler? 

All entries will receive honourable mentions on this blog and the College website.  Top prize is £300 with four “highly commended” submissions receiving £50 each.  We’ll be carefully checking all the entrants to see what ideas we can share with the community and in the wide range of courses we offer at College, so what you do could make a real difference.

The key criteria are quality and quantity of information communicated on the theme, as well as effectiveness in engaging the audience’s interest, all contributing to positive results.  Your deadline is 8^th March, 2013 with entries submitted to Stephen.Duff.Moray@uhi.ac.uk or at College reception.

So, who’s willing to give this a go?  If you don’t enter, you can’t win.  As a wise friend told me recently, “if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”