Highland Council has reassured Lochaber residents that their blue bin materials are recycled following “misleading” rumours.
Blue bins contain mixed recyclables such as plastics, metals, cardboard and paper with rumours circulating that they aren’t actually being recycled.
Highland Council has denied the “misleading information” and wants to reassure residents in the area that new items are being made out of their blue bin contents.
Chairman of the council’s communities and place committee, Graham Mackenzie said, “We appreciate it can sometimes be confusing for the public to know exactly what happens to their recycling, but I would personally like to take this opportunity to reassure the public that recyclable material collected in the blue bins is being recycled into new products.”
“There are strict environmental regulations, set out by Scottish Environmental Protection Agency that councils and waste management companies must adhere to, which ensure that the recycling collected can ultimately be put to its intended use – helping to protect the environment, not harm it.”
Rubbish sent to Edinburgh to be recycled
According to Highland Council, around 1,400 tonnes of blue bin recycling was sent for reprocessing from households and businesses in Lochaber.
The materials collected from the kerbside are weighed and bulked up at Locheil Logistics’ facility in Duisky near Fort William, who then transport the material to Biffa’s Materials Recovery Facility in Edinburgh.
In total, 15,700 tonnes of blue bin materials were sent for recycling across the Highland region in 2022.
The materials recovery facility then sorts recycled materials into individual groups using a combination of automated optical sorting technology, magnets and manual sorting.
The sorted materials are then baled and sent either for further sorting or straight for remanufacture.
Paper, card, metal tins and cans along with plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays can all be recycled in the blue bins. All items must be clean and free from food residues as this can spoil the paper and card.
A full list of what goes into the blue bin can be found on Highland Council’s website.
In 2021, there was an increase in the range of materials being accepted at Highland recycling centres.
This included textiles, glass bottles and jars, engine oil, plasterboard, soil and rubble.
These materials were reintroduced to Highland recycling centres as part of their phase to return to normal after the coronavirus pandemic put restrictions on recycling.
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