Inverness Recycling Service Expands

People in Inverness are benefiting from further expansion of The Highland Council’s kerbside recycling collection service for paper, cans and garden waste.

Local Highland Councillor Norrie Donald who is also Chairman of the Council’s City of Inverness and Area TEC Services Committee recently met with Mrs Forsyth of Boswell Road, Inverness as she received delivery of her blue box and brown bin.

In this third phase expansion of the Council’s Kerbside recycling collection scheme in Inverness Mrs Forsyth is one of 16,000 households benefiting from the scheme bringing the total number of households in Inverness to 32,000 and around 68,000 in total throughout Highland.

Since November 2004 the Highland Council has received £51 million from the Scottish Executive's Strategic Waste Fund to help improve recycling throughout the Highlands. A five-point plan of action was agreed that will increase waste recycled to around 21.7% by 2007.

Councillor Norrie Donald said: “Its great to see that the Scottish Executive has come up with more money to fund Highland Council’s recycling initiatives and I hope that they are going to carry on supporting the whole recycling programme throughout the Highlands. People want to recycle, and they are supportive of the opportunities to do so.”

The introduction of the Kerbsider is one element of The Highland Council’s strategy to fulfil the targets of the Highland Area Waste Plan.. The Highland Area Waste Plan is a joint commitment with partner organisations which have been combined into the National Waste Plan. The aims of the National Plan are to minimise the impact of waste on the environment, locally and globally, to improve resource use efficiency and to remedy environmental injustices suffered by those who had to live with the consequences of a wasteful society.

The recycling box should be used for food tins, drink cans, newspapers, magazines, telephone directories, unwanted mail, catalogues, office type paper and greetings card and residents are reminded that cardboard and envelopes cannot be accepted in the blue boxes.   The brown wheeled should be used for garden waste such as grass clippings, leaves, weeds, hedge clippings, small branches flowers and plants.   Plastic bags, stone and soil  should not be placed into the brown bins.

For items which cannot be put into the kerbside collection, people can also use the Inverness Recycling Centre at Henderson Drive, Henderson Road which is open seven days a week from 9.30 am – 8.00 pm. Materials accepted at Inverness Recycling Centre include: cans, car batteries, cardboard, engine oil, garden waste, gas cylinders, glass, paper, rubble and soil, scrap metal, textiles, white goods and wood. Furniture and household goods can be donated to Newstart Highland for reuse by using the separate containers provided at the site. 

For more information about recycling in the Inverness area visit www.www.highland.gov.uk or email recycle@highland.gov.uk.

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