Mossgiel Farm: Farm where Robert Burns worked ditches plastic

Bryce Cunningham from Mossgiel said they made the decision to ditch single use plastics in January 2019 – and in the four years since, their contribution has resulted in the use of 15 million fewer pieces of non-recyclable plastic materials in the area.

What makes it more incredible is that last January, they had ditched 8.3 million peces, meaning they have almost doubled that number in a year.

Carrying on the legacy of the farm that Robert Burns is said to have farmed at between 1784-1786, Mossgiel have been inspirations with their move since it began.

Farmer Bryce said previously: “At the time, people were talking about plastic waste, so we knew we had to do something because if we wanted to build the business then it would’ve involved us creating a lot of waste.

“That’s when we decided we wanted to become single-use plastic-free".

The farm encouraged East Ayrshire Council to get rid of single-use plastic, by supplying Mossgiel’s organic milk – wiping no fewer than 400,000 single-use bottles from the council’s waste output.

The move is part of a bigger project for the farm to become a Carbon Neutral business by December 2025.

Sharing the news of their incredible achievement, a farm spokesperson said: "At Mossgiel we’ve been catching up on some super boring admin; sorting out paperwork, checking we’ve dotted our ‘i’s’ and making sure we’re ready for the crazy 2023 has for us ahead.

"Dave in our sales team jumped up with an excited face - he realised this week that we’ve smashed through 15 million pieces of plastic saved from landfill since we ditched single use plastic in 2019.

"We say ‘we’ - but honestly, it’s not been us. It’s been you!

"Without you supporting our crowdfunding campaign, supporting our vision and bringing home the Mossgiel every single week we’d have saved nothing.

"Thank you so much for your support of our vision of dairy, we’re so lucky to have you".