New Ullapool kerbside recycling collection is a huge success

The Highland Council’s new blue bin kerbside recycling service in the Ullapool area has proved a great hit with residents wishing to recycle.  Feedback from collection crews has been extremely positive with the majority of households in Ullapool and Braes of Ullapool using the new service effectively. 

The new service to 700 properties, which began a month ago on 9 July, provides householders in Ullapool and the Braes of Ullapool with a blue wheeled bin to separate all their paper, cardboard, food tins, drink cans, and plastic bottles for recycling. 

Not only are the majority of householders taking part in the new service but there is also very little contamination and the materials that have been collected so far have been exceptionally clean. This means the quality of the material that is sent for recycling is excellent. 

Councillor John Laing, Chairman of TEC Services was pleased the service is proving to be popular.  He said:  “This is really good news and the Council would like to thank everyone for taking part. In Highland we are now recycling 35% of our waste, which is excellent, however we still need to keep up the good work in order to reach the Council’s goal of recycling 40% by the end of 2010. So please remember to make use of all the Council’s recycling facilities in your area and help reduce the amount of your waste that you send to landfill.”

Householders are asked not to forget that only plastic bottles can be accepted in the blue bin. Other plastics such as yoghurt pots, food trays, bottle tops and tubs are made from a variety of different plastics making them difficult to recycle, therefore they should not be placed in the blue bin.  Although glass bottles and jars cannot go in the blue bin they can be taken along to the Recycling Point at Latheron Lane car park or to the Recycling Centre.

So what happens to all the recycling that is collected in the blue bins? The material is bulked up and transported to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Grangemouth.  Once the materials have been transported to the MRF they are separated into the 4 different types through a system of conveyor belts, screening and also manual sorting.  After the materials have been sorted they are baled up ready to be sold on to the reprocessors. 

Did you know that it can take as little as six weeks before food tins and drink cans are recycled and back on the shelf!  All of the newsprint manufactured here in the UK is now made from 100% recycled paper.

For more information on recycling in your area and waste minimisation please visit:  /; email recycle@highland.gov.uk or call 01349 868439.