Councillor Praises Highland Residents For Recycling Figures

7th October 2014

The Highland Council recycling rate has reached 45% pushing it up to number 11 in the rankings of the 32 Scottish Local Authorities according to new figures released by SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) for 2013.

Councillor Graham MacKenzie, Chair of the Council's Community Services Committee, said: "These latest figures are great news and testament to the commitment of Highland residents to recycling. Please keep up the good work as the Scottish Government's Zero Waste Plan sets a target of 70% of all waste to be recycled by 2025."

He added: "The Highland Council is looking to increase the range materials collected in the blue recycling bins. This will hopefully happen sometime next year which will be welcomed by householders and help push our recycling rate higher still."

Recycling of paper, cardboard, tins, cans and plastic bottles have all seen a steady rise since the Alternate Weekly Collections began to be rolled out in 2010 with approximately 16,000 tonnes being recycled last year.

Glass recycling is also at an all-time high in Highland with around 65% of all glass bottles and jars being recycled by residents which is really good news. The glass bottles & jars are transported to the central belt where they are reprocessed into glass fibre insulation or new glass bottles and jars.

Food waste collections introduced in Inverness earlier in the year also have helped to boost the Highland Council recycling figures. Presently about half Inverness residents are using the service and The Council‘s Waste Awareness Team are encouraging more households to use the service by promoting the benefits - it is clean and easy to use and it is a weekly service that removes much of the smelly element from the fortnightly refuse bin.

Alternatively, composting fruit and veg peelings with garden waste at home is great for the environment and avoids this material being landfilled where it will produce harmful gases contributing to Climate Change.

For further information about recycling in the Highlands go to the Rubbish and recycling section of The Highland Council’s website: www.highland.gov.uk , email recycle[AT]highland.gov.uk or call 01349 886603. Downloadable refuse and recycling collection calendars are also available on the website.