Holiday recycling arrangements in Highland
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With Christmas almost upon us, The Highland Council is asking people living in Caithness to try and spare a thought for the amount of rubbish thrown away at this time of year.
Over the Christmas period it is estimated that households will produce approximately 30% more waste than usual. So this year why not make a special effort to make sure the whole family helps to reduce the amount of waste that gets thrown away in your house? There couldn’t be a better time for you to start recycling by using The Highland Council’s recycling facilities and by making a New Years resolution to recycle more than you did last year!
If you have a Kerbside Recycling collection from your property don’t forget to recycle your old Christmas cards, paper wrapping paper, extra food and drink cans using your recycling box after Christmas. Old real Christmas trees can also be put out in your brown bin but please make sure they are cut into easy to manage pieces.
If your blue box or refuse bin is due to be collected on Monday 25th Dec or Monday 1st January, the collections will be on the preceding Saturday so please put out your bins early on Saturday 23rd December and Saturday 30th December for collection instead. If the normal pickup day for either is Tuesday 2nd January, then put your bin and/or box out for collection on Saturday 6th January. There will be no garden waste collections on 25th December, 1st and 2nd January.
The Recycling Centres in Wick, Thurso and Seater will be closed 25th Dec, 1st Jan and 2nd Jan and accept old real Christmas trees, Christmas cards, paper wrapping paper (plastic & foil based paper cannot be recycled), tins, cans and glass bottles and jars for recycling. Christmas tends to be a busy time at the Recycling Centres and you may have to queue although the sites are less busy during weekdays.
The network of Recycling Points located throughout the Caithness area has been expanded to 18, most of which now accept paper (including paper wrapping paper and Christmas cards), tins, cans and glass bottles and jars for recycling. There are also 10 textile and shoe banks located in the area that accept clean garments and paired shoes which will be sent for reuse. Why not try to get into the habit of taking your recycling with you when you go to the shops, to help to minimise environmental impact and save you time too?
As well as using the Council’s recycling facilities there are other ways in which you can reduce the amount of rubbish you throw away over the festive period.
• Don’t put your fruit and vegetable peelings in the bin, compost them instead. Composting biodegradable waste such as kitchen and garden waste is an excellent way of improving our environment. If this material is sent to landfill it creates a large amount of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas), so the more garden and kitchen waste that is composted the better.
• It is estimated that 6.2 million tonnes of food waste is discarded each year by households in the UK. In Highland discarded food accounts for approximately 10% of the rubbish sent to landfill. Don’t throw Christmas leftovers away; use them to make delicious recipes which will also save you money too!
• Nearly 680 million batteries are bought in the UK each year, but just 5% of those are rechargeable - the rest are land filled. If you do buy batteries, make sure you buy rechargeable.
• Approximately 80,000 tonnes of textiles will be thrown away after Christmas. Donate any unwanted gifts, including clothes, toys, books and household items to your local charity shop rather than throwing them away, there is sure to be someone who will appreciate them.
For more information about waste minimisation and the recycling facilities in your area please call 01349 868439 or email recycle@highland.gov.uk.