How the refuse and recycling collections will operate

April date for new waste collections

NEW refuse and recycling collections in Caithness and Lochaber begin on Monday, 4 April.
From this date householders will receive a fortnightly refuse collection, alternating with a fortnightly recycling collection from blue or blue-lidded recycling bins. Both collections will be on the same day of the week – recycling one week and refuse the following.
Householders should by now have received a guide explaining the new collections and a calendar showing their collections dates. Residents of areas which have been receiving blue box recycling collections should also have been delivered a new blue recycling bin. These blue wheelie bins take a wider range of materials than the boxes – paper, cardboard, food tins and drink cans and plastic bottles. Any householder who has not received a bin or calendar and guide should contact the Council on 01349 886603.
Householders with redundant blue boxes are encouraged to use these to store glass bottles and jars before taking them to a Recycling Point. Currently, on average, households are only recycling about half their glass bottles and jars.
The existing brown bin garden waste collection service in urban areas is not affected by the changes. Residents of rural areas are encouraged to compost at home and avoid putting garden waste in their refuse bin. Garden waste can also be taken to Recycling Centres for composting. Organic material, such as garden waste, is particularly harmful when buried in landfill sites as it emits climate changing gases.
Highland Council’s commercial customers in Caithness and Lochaber are also being offered recycling collections from the 4th April and these are being welcomed by businesses keen to display their green credentials. The recycling collections also have the potential to offer businesses considerable financial savings as landfill disposal charges and taxes are avoided.
The new collections will be extended to the whole of Highland Council area over the coming year.
Councillor John Laing, Chairman of the TEC services committee, said that the new collection service showed the way forward and would offer both financial savings and environmental benefits: “The six month trial of the new collection service in Skye and Lochalsh has been very successful and shown a significant increase in recycling and a reduction in landfilled waste. These changes are essential if we are to meet Scottish Government long term targets to recycle 70% of all waste by 2025.”
Highland Council’s Waste Awareness Team can offer advice on reducing waste and increasing recycling to both householders and businesses and can be contacted on 01349 886603 or by emailing recycle@highland.gov.uk/recycle