Mixed glass recycling for Highlands makes it 'easier than ever' for the public
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Glass bottle and jar recycling in the Highlands is moving from segregated to mixed glass recycling.
All glass banks at recycling points across the region are now accepting any coloured glass bottles and jars, making recycling much easier for the public.
Viridor, Highland Council’s glass recycling contractor, operates a state-of-the-art glass recycling facility at Newhouse in North Lanarkshire where the mixed glass will be processed.
The plant accepts all coloured glass bottles and jars for processing by sorting the mixed glass back into the original colours and rejecting any contamination.
The recycled glass material is then transformed into high quality finished products for the food, drink and pharmaceuticals industries.
The facility features some of the most advanced recycling technology to be found in the world.
It encompasses 15 "scientific eye" optical sorters, X-ray sorters, over 0.5km of conveyer belts and 2.5km of electrical cabling across three floors of processing towers.
Councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of the council’s communities and place committee, welcomed the new recycling system.
"Highland Council is fortunate to be able to send glass bottles and jars to this impressive facility which removes the need for the public to colour segregate their glass," he said.
"Mixed glass recycling is going to be of great benefit to the council and the public.
"It will be much quicker and easier to recycle glass and it will improve the efficiency of collecting the material meaning we will no longer see one bank full to overflowing and another next to it partly empty.
"We also hope to see a reduction in the public leaving bags of glass at the recycling points due to one particular colour bank being full."
Cllr Henderson said glass could be endlessly recycled without any loss of quality.
"Last year, around 6000 tonnes of glass bottles and jars were collected from the 200 recycling points in Highland and successfully recycled," he continued.
"We have an excellent track record in Highland with the public recycling their glass bottles and jars this new change can hopefully mean we can recycle even more."
The new system of mixed glass recycling is available to use now.
People are encouraged to use all the glass banks at recycling points for all colours of bottles and jars.
New stickers will be put on the glass banks explaining all are mixed glass recycling.
Glass banks are for bottles and jars.
Pyrex, window glass, sheet glass etc are not accepted at the glass banks.
The glass recycling journey is demonstrated in a video:
