Recycling reaches new heights

Mar 10 2009

Residents across South Lanarkshire have recycled more than 75,000 tonnes of waste in the past year giving a recycling rate of 37% - one of the highest in the country.

And from Monday 16 March that recycling rate is set to increase as the council will extend its Blue Bin recycling programme with a new way of recycling glass.

Following on from the positive feedback from householders who have wholeheartedly supported the domestic kerbside recycling services since its introduction in 2003, these services are to be improved and extended to help make South Lanarkshire Scotland's leading recycling area.

As part of a pilot scheme, 52,000 households were given the opportunity to recycle mixed glass using a re-usable canvas sack which is currently collected from the kerbside on a two weekly basis.

And as the glass recycling has proved to be such a success, residents will be provided, where suitable, with a small 140-litre burgundy coloured wheeled bin which will be emptied from the kerbside every four weeks. The bin will hold a lot more glass than the existing sack and is a much safer method of collection.

An added bonus to this recycling success story is that glass is now used in the manufacture of concrete building blocks allowing builders to satisfy local authority requirements that construction projects should use 10% recycled materials.

The McCarry family are just one household who have welcomed the news about the new bin as parents David and Adriana, son Scott and daughter Amy, are keen to recycle everything they can.

Adriana said: "Our family have always been keen on recycling and it has, over the years, become second nature for us. If ever we forget and put something in the wrong bin, Scott and Amy are always there to scold and remind us.

"Our planet is very precious to us and we must do all we can to preserve it for our kids and their kids. Although some don't believe it, every little does help.

"We are delighted with the new bin system for glass collection because as a family of four we often find the canvas bag just isn't large enough for our jars and bottles so a wheeled bin is much better for collection and more easily moved for uplift.

"We are happy to do all we can to ensure a healthy future for our planet and welcome the improvements to the glass recycling initiative."

Residents in the new housing developments and in rural areas throughout South Lanarkshire will also be receiving their blue recycling bins during the week commencing 16 March and, suitable locations are currently being looked at for the installation of communal recycling facilities close to blocks of flats so that flat dwellers can contribute to domestic recycling activities too.

People who live in properties such as terraced houses and tenement properties where neither blue wheeled bins nor communal recycling facilities are possible will, early in the new financial year, receive transparent refuse sacks so that they too can join in and recycle their domestic waste.

Distribution of the new burgundy bins is expected to take around eight weeks to complete across South Lanarkshire and separate information and a calendar of collection dates will be distributed to householders.