WRITING this, as I did, in blistering temperatures of 24C it is hard not feel that climate change has a degree of positives that are not often flagged up in the ongoing eco-debate.

It is the third week in a row at least of hot, sunny weather that makes Scotland appear to have been unexpectedly moved to a spot just off the coast of Egypt when no-one was looking.

But then a quick glance at the weather forecast confirms that, sadly, things will be back to normal very soon and Scotland has clearly been moved back to where it was on the sly.

Of course, the long dry spell is no summer holiday for some, as farmers see their crops suffer and households are warned to preserve water in case we run out.

Regardless of where you stand on the climate-change debate, everyone is in agreement that much has been done to cut greenhouse emissions but more needs to be done.

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So, inevitably, this week the Greens have stepped forward to offer up another of their wheezes to save the planet – households now face fines for recycling the wrong domestic waste.

Under the the Circular Economy Bill, councils are set to be handed the power to issue cash punishments for not recycling properly.

It is likely penalties will be around £60, similar to parking fines, which are halved if paid within a certain time.

But there are fears offenders could even be referred to police or that local authorities could start “spying” on family waste bins with “criminal enforcement for persistent offending”. As well as fines, the Circular Economy Bill will give ministers powers to place charges on single-use items like coffee cups.

They could also ban the disposal of unsold consumer goods and set local recycling targets.

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said: “I want everyone in the country to experience a modern, easy-to-use waste service that makes it easy for people to do the right thing for the planet.

"The Circular Economy Bill will with give local councils and the Scottish Government the powers they need to transform our economy and tackle throwaway culture.”

What could possibly go wrong with this? Well, if Ms Slater is behind it then virtually anything and everything almost certainly will, given her hapless ministerial record.

On the face of it, recycling is one of the easiest things to master and households have been doing it pretty well for decades without much mishap.

What happens when it leaves our gardens is a different matter altogether and is probably the main reason why recycling rates in some council areas remain stubbornly below targets.

Some councils are absolutely brilliant at recycling while others are less so.

Of course there are many contributory factors in all this; the big cities have a high proportion of tenements and other flats, which makes recycling difficult due to the sheer number of bins required.

People would be left slaloming their way around a multitude of different-coloured bins while going to the shops. Great for fitness but bad for just about everything else.

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Another major problem is a lack of proper recycling facilities in many places, with tonnes of waste, particularly plastics, being shipped overseas for proper disposal.

Rather than tackle this problem by building more facilities, the government has, of course, decided that it’s all the fault of households and they will be the ones to pay.

It is all too predictable a tactic and will do nothing more than raise cash for financially strapped councils rather than increase recycling rates.

It is the same with the new low emission zones, which will do very little to improve air quality but will raise quite a bit cash from unsuspecting motorists.

The Greens appear to not like very much and are content to condemn and penalise without offering much in the way of alternatives and this is feeding into government policy.

Vital road upgrades, such as the A9 and A96, remain unbuilt and are increasingly unlikely to be so under the current government.

The North Sea oil industry is another bogeyman in their eyes, with much waffle spouted about a “transition” without anyone really explaining what that exactly means – if anything.

Another vital industry – whisky – is being targeted by a draconian alcohol advertising ban while it is also being hit by the haphazard deposit return scheme.

Fishing is also being affected by the ill thought out marine protected areas (MPAs) and now households are in the firing line for no real purpose other than to achieve vague aims and make some folk feel good about themselves.