Plastic film recycling plea to PKC residents
Householders in Perth and Kinross are being encouraged to use plastic film recycling points at their local supermarket.
Every fortnight, eight per cent of the average household general waste bin in Perth and Kinross contains plastic film.
However, a large proportion of this can be taken back to the supermarket for recycling.
Mark Butterworth, head of environmental and consumer services at Perth and Kinross Council, said: “Plastic film seems to take up so much of the general waste bin - and a lot of it is unavoidable.
“Not everything can be recycled at the kerbside, but designated collection points and take back schemes are becoming the norm.
“There are numerous recycling points for glass bottles and jars, textiles, foil and small electricals across Perth and Kinross and the deposit return scheme is on the way.
“Supermarket recycling points for plastic film like the one at Morrisons Perth branch, is just another example of waste that we can get into the habit of diverting from landfill.”
A lot of resources have been used to create the plastic, including oil from the North Sea.
Instead of sending this material to landfill, it can be taken back to the supermarket so it can be made into something new.
Stephanie Duncan, community champion at Morrisons in Perth, said: “To take part, shoppers are encouraged to put a carrier bag aside at home and put in it any empty, clean and dry plastic films.
“When the bag is full, take it for recycling at the same time as your next food shop.”
Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco supermarkets now have plastic film and carrier bag recycling points in the entrance of their stores.
This includes all plastic bags except biodegradable or compostable bags, bread bags, breakfast cereal liners, shrink wrap and ring joiners from multi-packs of water and cans, frozen food bags, dry cleaning bags and bags covering new clothing, magazine and newspaper wrappers, bags for loose fruit and vegetables, bubble wrap and low-density polyethylene.
For a full list of recycling points across Perth and Kinross, visit www.pkc.gov. uk/plasticfilm