Caithness and Lochaber - New Recycling And Refuse Collections

1st March 2011

Preparations for the introduction of the new refuse and recycling collections to households in Caithness and Lochaber step up a gear this week as The Highland Council begin the distribution of new calendars and booklets giving full details of the new service. Households in areas which presently have blue recycling boxes will also begin to be issued with blue wheelie bins; these will take a wider range of materials than the boxes - paper, food tins and drink cans, cardboard and plastic bottles.

The new service will see a fortnightly collection of recycling bins alternating with a fortnightly collection of refuse bins. Both collections will take place on the same day of the week - blue recycling bins one week and green/grey refuse bins the next.

The distribution of recycling bins, calendars and booklets will take a number of weeks but all households should have received theirs by the start of the new service on the 4th April. The 2 year calendars show clearly which bin to put out each week and the accompanying booklet explains how to use the blue recycling bin and offers householders guidance on managing their refuse to avoid any potential problems. It includes advice on reducing food waste, composting and how to recycle other unwanted items. The Council's Waste Awareness Team will also be out and about talking to people on doorsteps and at a number of area events and will be able to advise on any concerns surrounding the change.

The current average recycling rate in The Highland Council area of 35% is a significant improvement on the 2002 level of less than 5% but the Council is working towards increasing this to 40%. The Scottish Government has set a target of 70% of all waste to be recycled by 2025. Alternate weekly collections are now common in Scotland and have already been adopted by 21 out of 32 Councils.

Chairman of The Highland Council's TECS Committee, Councillor John Laing said that alternate weekly collections, which have been successfully trialled in Skye and Lochalsh over the past six months, have been proven to increase recycling and reduce landfilled waste. "Figures for the first 5 months of the Skye and Lochalsh trial show a 50% increase in the amount of recycled material collected at the kerbside and a decrease in residual waste of 427 tonnes when compared to the same period in the previous year. When you consider that the Council has to pay £48- about to increase to £56 - per tonne for landfilled waste this represents considerable savings to Council Tax payers in addition to the important environment benefits."

The recycling collections are also being rolled out to all The Highland Council's commercial customers in these areas. Over the past few weeks the Waste Management Team have been contacting businesses to discuss the level of service to be offered as well as giving advice on waste minimisation.

The new collections will be discussed at the next joint Caithness Ward Forum on Tuesday 8th March 2011 in the Park Hotel, Thurso at 7.30 pm to which everyone is welcome. The Highland Council's Principle Waste Management Officer June Ross will be giving a presentation and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

For more information about the new collection service or how to reduce your waste please call 01349 886603; email recycle[AT]highland.gov.uk or visit www.highland.gov.uk

For more on waste management in Highland go to -
www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironment/wastemanagement/