Recycling Arrangements in Sutherland over the holidays.
With Christmas almost upon us, The Highland Council is asking residents in Sutherland 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 help 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 the GREAN Kerbside Recycling collection from your property don’t forget to recycle your old Christmas cards, paper wrapping paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars and textiles using your recycling box. Plastic bottles (caps off), food tins and drink cans should be recycled using the large plastic bag which is provided.
The Christmas and New Year collection arrangements for the GREAN recycling service are as follows:
• Wednesday 27th December – Brora, Dalchalm
• Thursday 28th December – Dornoch, Clashmore, Camore, Cuthill
• Friday 29th December – Lairg, Bonar Bridge, Ardgay, Spinningdale, Pittentraill
• Thursday 4th Janaury – Golspie
• Friday 5th January – Helmsdale, Portgower, Embo
If your 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.
The Recycling Centres in Bonar Bridge, Brora, Durness, Lairg, Lochinver and Melness will be closed on 25th December, 1st and 2nd January during the festive period.
Christmas trees should be taken to Bonar Bridge, Brora and Lairg Recycling Centres for composting. All the Recycling Centres apart from Durness accept Christmas cards, paper wrapping paper (plastic or foil wrapping paper cannot be recycled), food tins, drink cans and glass bottles and jars for recycling.
The network of Recycling Points located throughout Sutherland has been expanded to 24, the majority of which now accept paper (including paper wrapping paper and Christmas cards), tins, cans and glass bottles and jars for recycling. There are also 6 textile and shoe banks located in the area that accept clean garments and paired shoes which will be sent for reuse. GREAN also have a Recycling Point in Golspie which accepts Christmas trees, paper, cans, glass and textiles for recycling. Why not try to get into the habit of taking your recycling with you when you go to the shops as this helps to minimise environmental impact and will 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.