Council should chuck blue bin move and think again

Sir, – Perth and Kinross Council’s arbitrary decision to confiscate all blue recycling bins from Ballantine

Place in Perth because of “contamination” by a few residents (The Courier, November 9) seems to me to be a gross over-reaction.

Arguably, it may even breach their legal obligation to provide kerbside refuse collection.

The rules on what can go in blue bins are far from simple. This is evident from the council’s own much-vaunted ‘Stick to the Six’ guidelines, which define two of the six permitted items as “plastic containers such as punnets and tubs” and “cartons such as Tetrapak and Purepak”.

The key to the problem lies in the term “such as”, which indicates there are other containers and cartons that can go in the blue bin but are not itemised in the guidance. But what are they, and how do we recognise them?

You only have to look at your food packaging to see why a comprehensive list is simply not possible. Packages bear a bewildering array of messages such as “not currently recyclable”, “recycle at large supermarkets”, “recycle with Terracycle”, “don’t recycle at home”, “check kerbside locally”, and so on. Some bear no recycling information at all.

Some items can go in the blue bin in their entirety; others have to be pulled apart, washed clean and separated into recyclable and nonrecyclable components. Tubs, trays and cartons which are recyclable display a wide range of symbols which are virtually incomprehensible.

I am committed to recycling but I recognise how very easy it is to inadvertently get it wrong. So many things that instinctively look and feel as though they belong in the blue bin are, on closer inspection, prohibited. It is high time producers conformed to a single recycling standard.

Until then, instead of sending Ballantine Place to stand in the naughty corner, I suggest the council tries to find ways to engage more positively with its citizens to find their way through this problem.

Iain Stuart,

Oakbank Crescent, Perth.