Ross and Cromarty next to receive new recycling and refuse service
Ross and Cromarty will be the next area to receive the new refuse and recycling collections being introduced across The Highland Council area. Over the next few weeks residents will receive notification of the changes which come into effect from the 3rd October.
Lochcarron, Lochbroom and Achiltibuie areas will receive a recycling service for the first time and will be given blue wheelie bins which will accept paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, food tins and drink cans. These will be collected fortnightly, alternating with a fortnightly collection of general waste from the existing green bins.
Residents who currently have a recycling box collection will also be given a blue wheeled bin. The garden waste collections will remain as present at fortnightly, although collection days may change.
Residents in areas where blue wheelie recycling bin collections were introduced a while ago will see their current 4-weekly collections of these bins increased to fortnightly, again alternating with a fortnightly collection of general waste.
During August and September new calendars and guides will be delivered to households, explaining the new service. Residents of blue box areas and the Wester Ross areas receiving the service for the first time will receive delivery of blue wheelie bins in preparation for the start of the service on the 3rd October.
Recycling collections are also being rolled out to all The Highland Council’s commercial customers in these areas, although the frequency of collections offered will vary according to locality. Full details of the new service will shortly be sent out and the Waste Management Team will be individually contacting all commercial customers to discuss their service requirements.
The new collections have already been successfully introduced in Skye and Lochalsh, Lochaber, Caithness and, most recently, in Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. Where they have been introduced there has been a significant increase in recycling and reduction in waste sent to landfill.
Chairman of The Highland council’s TEC Services Committee, Councillor John Laing said that the changes to the Ross and Cromarty collections are a significant next stage in the effort to increase recycling rates. “I am particularly pleased that the Lochcarron, Lochbroom and Achilitbuie areas have been included in this phase of the programme as residents there have, until now, not been offered a kerbside recycling service. I believe residents of other parts of Ross and Cromarty will welcome the improvements to their existing recycling service. Unfortunately Wester Ross residents serviced by the Gairloch refuse collection vehicle, the Dundonnell through to Kishorn and Kinlochewe area, will have to wait until next year before a kerbside recycling service is extended to them and I would like to thank them for their patience.”
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.
Concerns about smells from rotting organic matter can be allayed by sensible bin management and ensuring that such material is double bagged separately from the ‘clean’, ‘non- smelly’ non-recyclable waste rather than throwing everything in the bin together.
Householders are also encouraged to try to minimise the amount of organic matter placed in the residual waste bin by reducing food waste – households in Scotland throw away an average of £430 worth of food every year (visit http://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com/) – and by composting items such as raw fruit and vegetables, flowers and garden waste. Advice on home composting and other ways of reducing waste and increasing recycling is available by visiting www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk