Councillors visit recycling centre
Two Rutherglen councillors marked Recycle Week properly by visiting the Levenseat recycling and resource centre at Forth to see the process at work.
Levenseat is a recycling company which has a contract with South Lanarkshire Council for recycling and disposal of“grey bin”waste, such as bottles, plastics, metals and cans.
With Recycle Week taking place across Scotland last week, Liberal Democrat councillor Robert Brown and Labour’s Margaret Cowie – who both represent the Rutherglen South ward – were given a tour of the facility.
Councillor Brown said:“Recycling is hugely important to stop the sheer waste of throwing useful materials away and avoiding putting it in landfill which can take many years to decompose.
“The council have made big strides to increase recycling ratesand this is really a significant local step towards helping save the planet.
“The company have contracts with councils and other customers across Scotland. It was fascinating to see all the lorries coming in from South Lanarkshire, Glasgow, West Lothian and other places and disgorging the contents.”
The councillors watched as the grey bin items went through a conveyor belt process to separate the different materials, and saw recycling workers handpick unsuitable items from the conveyor and send them off in the right direction.
Councillor Brown said:“It is not so much a problem with the odd item going in the wrong bin – it’s when it is all mixed up with food waste, black bin bags or things of that sort.
Councillor Cowie added:“I welcome Recycle Week and found the visit a great opportunity to understand better how it all works. We picked up all sorts of things about how to recycle better at home.
“For example, most plastic food containers can be recycled providing they are properly washed out. I always thought you couldn’t recycle plastic bleach bottles and the like but you can if they are washed out.”