There 's so much you can recycle - Argyll and Bute Council

There’s so muchyou can recycleusing your recycling servicescollectedweeklycollectedfortnightlycollectedfortnightly

ContentsIntroduction Page 3Food Waste Page 4Blue Bin: Page 8Paper, Cardboard, Cans & PlasticDark Grey Bin: Page 10GlassGreen Bin: Page 11General WasteLocal Recycling Centre Information Page 12Contact Information Page 12

IntroductionFirstly we’d like to say a big thank you for yourefforts to recycle. We’re doing really well…Argyll and Bute currently recycles or composts 42% of householdwaste from the Helensburgh and Lomond area – but we have todo more. The Scottish Government has set us a challenge to recycle50% by 2013 and 60% by 2020 and, also by 2020, it will beillegal in Scotland to send food waste to landfill. In addition,the cost of disposing of waste in landfill sites is increasing whichis an added burden to council tax payers.Recycling more food waste is especially important as Scottishhouseholds throw out 570,000 tonnes of food waste each yearand collecting and disposing of it costs councils an estimated£85 million a year. The environmental cost is also high as a result of:• all the energy involved with producing, transporting, packagingand storing the food; and• methane, a damaging greenhouse gas, emitted from the wastedfood rotting in landfill sites.To meet this challenge Argyll and Bute Council is encouragingpeople to recycle more material more often so we not only maintainbut improve our recycling record. Collecting and putting your foodwaste out for recycling is really quite easy and this guide will showyou how.Remember every newspaper, tin or scrap of food can berecycled.This booklet will guide you through the bins and collections thatArgyll and Bute Council provides, explaining how to use your foodwaste collection caddy, what materials should be put into each binand answers any questions that you may have about your recyclingservices.Working towards a Zero Waste Scotland.3

Food WasteEverything here . . .. . . Can go in herePlease use your small green bin andkitchen caddy to collect food waste.Your kerbside food waste binis collected on the same day everyweek – see calendar for details ofyour collection days.You can use your 7 litre kitchencaddy to collect your food wastebefore putting it in your 23 litrefood waste bin.Please put your food waste bin outby 08:00 on your collection day.4

What can go in the food waste bin?All food waste can be recycled: cooked or uncooked, evenbones!Dairy 4Meat 4 Bones 4 Fruit 4Vegetables 4Bread 4 Rice & pasta 4 Fish 4Key Facts - Food WasteScottish households produce 566,000 tonnes of food waste every year. Of this:• 341,000 tonnes (60.2%) is collected from people’s homes by councils either intheir mixed waste or in special food waste collections for recycling, where these areprovided.• 225,000 tonnes or 39.8% – is disposed of by other means including homecomposting, feeding to pets and tipping down the sink (sewer).Of the 566,000 tonnes of food waste produced, over two-thirds – 389,000 tonnes or68.8% – could have been avoided if it had been more effectively planned, stored andmanaged.Where does food waste come from?Buying too muchOut of date foodleft in fridgeor cupboardsLeftovers frompreparationLeftovers from mealsFor top tips for managing food better, including recipe ideas for leftovers, see the LoveFood Hate Waste campaign, visit: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com5

Food WasteWhat happens to the food waste collected?You can use your 7 litre kitchen caddy to collect your food waste before putting yourfilled liners in your kerbside food waste bin. Please use compostable liners to line yourcaddy.Put a liner into your indoorcaddy.Put your full liner in yourgreen food waste bin.Transfer any cookedor uncooked food wasteto the caddy.When the liner is full,tie and remove from caddyand replace with a new liner.It’s thatclean, easyand simpleto doPut your green food waste bin out for collection. To preventspills, lock the handle by putting it in a vertical position.Replacement linersPlease use only the liners supplied with your kitchen caddy. Replacement linersare free of charge and you will be resupplied approximately every six months.If you find you need more liners before we resupply you, then please call theEnquiry Line 01546 605 514 or visit the Argyll and Bute Council website ‘Requestit’ page.Please note: if you have a yellow ‘flag’ on your bin to request new bags, we areno longer using this system. Please contact the Enquiry Line or use the Councilwebsite as above.6

Food WasteWhat happens to the food waste collected?Your food waste is collected by a small refuse vehicle, stockpiled then taken to atreatment plant in Scotland where it is either composted in an in-vessel* compostingsystem or in an anaerobic digestion* system where it will be used to generate energyand make fertilizer. The compost is then used for landscaping and brownfield sitedevelopment purposes.*In-vessel composting is a process by which compost is made in an enclosed chamber or building.*Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which micro-organisms break down biodegradable materialin the absence of oxygen.Why recycle food waste?More than 30% of the waste in an average Scottish bin is food. Diverting food wastefrom landfill means that it can be turned into valuable fertilisers and energy, and limitsmethane gas production at landfill caused by food waste breaking down. Recyclingour food waste in Argyll and Bute will help to ensure we meet the challenges set byScotland’s Zero Waste Plan. By 2020 it will be illegal to send food waste to landfill,an ambitious target that we must start working towards.Home compostingIf you have a home composter, please continue to compost garden and kitchenvegetable waste at home. Home composting is an easy way to turn your garden andkitchen waste into a useful product for your garden at the same time as reducing theamount of waste in your refuse bin.For more information on home composting please visit:www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/guide-home-compostingOn behalf of Zero Waste Scotland, the GRAB Trust runs a waste volunteer scheme inArgyll and Bute to train volunteers to go out into their local communities and promotehome composting and waste minimisation. To find out more, or if you want homecomposting advice, please call the GRAB Trust on 01546 600 165.7

Blue Recycling BinPaper, Cardboard, Cans & PlasticEverythinghere . . .. . . Can go in herePlease collect paper, cardboard,cans, plastic bottles, tubs, pots andtrays and place them in the blue bin.This bin will be collected fortnightlyon the alternate week to your greengeneral waste bin – see separatecalendar for details of yourcollection day.Please put your bin out by 08:00on your collection day8

What can go in the blue bin?CansYes please:4 Food, Drink & Aerosol Cans4 Biscuit & Sweet TinsNo thanks:8 Oil or Paint TinsPlastic Bottles, Tubs, Pots & Trays4 All Plastic Drinks, Detergentor Cosmetic Bottles, Plastic Tubs,Pots & Trays8 Other types of Plastic Packaging,Plastic Bags or LinersPaper4 Office Paper 4 Printer Paper4 Newspapers 4 Brochures4 Magazines 4 Envelopes4 Phonebooks & Yellow Pages8 Tissues8 Metallic Wrapping Paper8 Food Contaminated Paper/Card8 Painted Paper/CardCardboard4 Food Packaging Cardboard/Product Sleeves4 Cereal Packets 4 Egg Boxes4 Toothpaste Boxes4 Cardboard Boxes/Packaging4 Drinks Cartons (Tetra Paks)8 Cardboard contaminatedwith foodPlease do not put paper, card, cans or plastic in plastic bags. Please rinse cans, cartons andplastic bottles, tubs, pots and trays. Please either leave lids off plastic bottles so they can besquashed or squash bottles and put lid back on.What happens to it all?Your cans, cardboard, paper and plastic are collected together in one vehicle.They are then taken to a sorting facility (currently Greenlight Environmental inAlexandria) where they are sorted by mechanical methods and by hand and baledready to be sent to manufacturers. The plastic is sent to Leicestershire where it is usedto manufacture new products. The aluminium is sent to Cheshire for recycling into newcans and the steel is mainly recycled in the Midlands. Paper is sent to Deeside forrecycling into new paper products and cardboard mainly goes to a cardboard mill inthe Midlands.9

If you have aDark Grey Bin for Glass...Everything here . . .. . . Can goin hereAround 10,000 householdsin Helensburgh and Lomondhave access to a separate glasscollection. If you currently havea dark grey bin please use it tocollect glass separately from othermaterials.Your grey bin will be collectedevery four weeks – see separatecalendar for details of yourcollection days.Please put your bin out by 08:00on the day of your collection.If you are in an area which cannotaccess the kerbside glass collectionservice, please use your nearestbottle banks to recycle your glass.Yes please:4 Cooking Sauce Bottles4 Cooking Oil Bottles4 Wine Bottles 4 Beer Bottles4 Soft Drink Bottles 4 Coffee Jars4 Pasta Sauce Jars 4 Jam Jars4 Baby Food Jars 4 Pickle JarsNo thanks:8 Pyrex & Ceramics8 Plates & Cups8 Windowpane Glass8 Drinking Glasses 8 Spectacles8 Light Bulbs 8 Lids & Bottle Tops8 MirrorsWhat happens to the glass?Glass is either collected by Greenlight or the Council and sent to recyclingreprocessors in Alloa or Renfrewshire where it is either turned into new glass bottlesand jars or used as substitute aggregate for pipe bedding, filter media and brickmanufacturing.10

Green BinGeneral WastePlease use your green general wastebin for all the general waste which wecannot recycle . . .Including . . .• Nappies• Cling film, bubble wrap, or foodcontaminated plastics• Non- recyclable plastics• Other non- recyclable wastesDo not include . . .• Batteries or electronic equipment• Rubble, soil, stones or bricks• Bulky itemsThese items can be taken to your localrecycling centre.Please do not leave items at the sideof your green bin.Your green bin is collected on alternateweeks to your blue bin.Please put your bin out by 08:00on your collection day.11

Recycling Centre in Helensburghand LomondRecycling centres in Argyll and Bute accept a wide range of materials whichyou may not be able to recycle using your domestic kerbside collection system.The Blackhill Recycling Centre, Luss Road, Helensburgh G84 9EEaccepts the following materials:4 Paper & Cardboard 4 Food Waste4 Plastic Bottles / Food Trays / Tubs / Pots 4 Glass Bottles / Jars4 Food & Drinks Cartons (Tetra Paks) 4 Textiles4 Cans / Tins / Empty Aerosols 4 Scrap Metal4 Household Batteries 4 Car Batteries4 Green Garden Waste 4 Wood4 Fluorescent Tubes / Light Bulbs 4 Rubble4 Water Based Paints 4 Engine Oil4 Electrical or Battery Operated Items (large or small)Opening hours: (Subject to change)Monday - Friday: Summer (1st April - 30th September) 9.30am - 5.30pmWinter (1st October - 31st March) 9.30am - 4.00pmSaturday - Sunday: All Year 10.00am - 4.00pmRecycling PointsThere are recycling points, collecting a smaller range of materials at:Cans Card Paper Plastic Textiles GlassHelensburgh Pier, Car Park 4 4 4 4 4 4Gibson Hall, Garelochhead 4 4Rosneath, Car Park at shops 4 4 4 4 4 4Kilcreggan Pier 4 4 4 4 4Arrochar, Head of Loch Long 4 4 4 4 4 4Luss, Car Park 4 4 4 4 4 4Cardross, Main St 4 4 4 4 4 4Rhu Park 4 4 4 4 4 4Tarbet Pier, Car Park 4 4Drumfork Court, Helensburgh 4 4 4 4 4 4Churchill Square, Helensburgh 4 4Clynder 4Cove Shop 4If you have any questions, would like more information on recyclingin Argyll and Bute, or how you can Reduce, Reuse and Recycleyour waste please contact the Enquiry Line 01546 605 514or email enquiries@argyll-bute.gov.uk.Alternatively, visit our website: www.argyll-bute.gov.uk.