Highland households throwing away large quantities of recyclables in general waste, new figures show
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MORE than a third of household waste in the Highlands is needlessly going to landfill instead of being recycled or composted, new figures have revealed.
An analysis of domestic waste by Highland Council has revealed that an average of 36 per cent of the contents of the region's domestic green bins is going to landfill despite it being recyclable or compsotable at home.
A further quarter of waste was also found to be food and drink still in its packaging or in unopened containers.
And the region's residents are being urged to do their bit to get those figures down to zero by familiarising themselves with what can and cannot be recycled or composted, instead of just dumping it in the general waste.
The data was revealed when the council conducted a waste analysis last November of sample households in Contin, Evanton, Dingwall, Inverness and Strathpeffer.
It was conducted using funding from Zero Waste Scotland as part of national efforts to discover the make-up of typical household bin contents across the country. And it is hoped the results will enable the council to focus on waste prevention and increasing recycling.
Chairman of the council’s communities and place committee, Cllr Graham Mackenzie, said: “The amount of food and drink in refuse bins equates to 20,000 tonnes of waste per year across the region and is disappointing.”
“When we throw food away, it rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Methane gas has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, a major contributor to the climate crisis.”
Only buying the food we know we will eat reduces food waste and saves households money. Composting unavoidable food waste at home such as vegetable peelings and fruit skins is easy to do and helps to reduce to reduce greenhouse emissions. Useful information on reducing food waste, saving money and composting can be found at these links:
Cllr Mackenzie continued: “The analysis shows us where we need to make changes in our behaviour towards waste and recycling. Reducing the amount we create is the first step, followed by re-use.
"Donate usable items such as clothes, books, and toys to charity shops rather than throwing them away.
"Getting as much recycling out of the refuse bin is the next important step as we all work towards a more sustainable waste solution and the funding from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund will certainly help us achieve this when the new refuse and recycling collections are introduced next year.”
The Highland data revealed that big offenders when it comes to waste that could easily be recycled included glass bottles and jars, which made up six per cent of general waste in the study – despite bottle banks being located at virtually every mid to large-size supermarket in the Highlands, as well as at community halls, recycling cventres and more.
Garden waste also made up six per cent of general waste, despite composting being an option – and one which would save households money on store-bought compost. Metal – another readily-recyclable material – also made up four per cent of general waste.
All of these materials can be recycled at the council’s 200 recycling points and 21 household waste recycling centres.
The analysis also found per cent of the waste to be plastic pots, tubs, and trays. These are items that are easily recycled in the blue recycling bin and a quick rinse will ensure they do not have food waste on them: good recycling is clean and dry.
The council collects around 57,000 tonnes of refuse and around 15,000 tonnes of recycling from households through kerbside collections each year. The recycling rate for Highland is currently 37 per cent. This includes recycling from the kerbside and recycling centres.
For tips on how to reduce your waste or for more information about recycling visit www.highland.gov.uk/recycle or email recycle@highland.gov.uk
