Recycling bins to be checked

Recycling bins in Perth are being inspected in a bid to tackle “contamination”. Blue bins will be checked to record items not suitable for recycling, in a scheme which started on Monday.

Postcards will be attached to contaminated bins explaining what can be recycled, Perth and Kinross Council said.

Members of the council’s waste services team will be joining rubbish collectors to check bins in Hillyland, Fairfield, Letham, North Muirton, Craigie, Muirton and Tulloch.

Mark Butterworth, head of environmental and consumer services at the council, said: “We recognise many people place items in their recycling bins with the best of intentions, however not all of these items are accepted.

“We also recognise that we need to provide more support to our residents about what can and what cannot be put in the bin, and having our officers out with the bin crews will allow us to provide information directly to those who require it.”

The new plan is the latest effort in the council’s “Stick to the Six” campaign which aims to crack down on poor recycling practice.

The campaign was launched in March – when postcards with recycling information were sent to 23,000 properties in the areas with poorest recycling rates.

The overall aim of the campaign is to bring the contamination in the council’s recycling bins below a 20% threshold.

The authority has already paid out around £100,000 of taxpayers’ money in fines to French waste management firm SUEZ, for constantly breaking the 20% contamination barrier.

Councillor Angus Forbes, environment and infrastructure convener, said: “We know no one is perfect, so a small amount of contamination in our blue bins is to be expected, however, having seen the photos of the level of contamination, it is clear we must work together to improve the situation.

“We are therefore asking householders to Stick to the Six, and only recycle paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, plastic containers, cans and cartons.

“Contamination costs money, it ruins the hard work of residents who recycle correctly, and it contributes to climate

change through the disposal of valuable resources.”

In Perth and Kinross, six

materials can be recycled in a blue bin. These are:

Paper; Cardboard; Plastic bottles; Plastic containers

including pots, punnets, trays and tubs; Cans and tins; Cartons including Tetrapak and Purepak.

SCHEME: Postcards will be attached to bins to record items not suitable for recycling.