What a load of rubbish
Waste firm hits out as frustration grows over Scots recycling chaos...
CHAOS in kerbside bin collections is threatening to undermine the economic case for recycling, experts claim.
Confusion reigns across Scottish homes, with tonnes of rubbish being put in the wrong bins every week.
Two weeks ago we revealed that councils were increasingly visiting homes to lecture people on putting the correct things in bins.
Thousands of the visits have been carried out, but many householders are still nonplussed as to what they can put in their growing number of bins.
And many don’t understand that failing to properly clean out some containers effectively makes waste useless for recycling as the items can’t be processed.
Now experts are warning that while recycling has been a Scottish success story, the problem of contamination is causing growing concern.
The problem leads to green waste being rejected by recycling companies and returned to local authorities which then have to fork out a fortune to dump the waste in landfill.
Just one empty bottle of milk with a trace of liquid still in it can jeopardise the full load being recycled.
And the heavy-handed approach of councils employing bin snoopers to check on what you put in your bins has been blasted by some of the biggest players in Scotland’s recycling industry.
Viridor is one of Scotland’s largest recycling firms, with a contract to handle recyclables from 31 of Scotland’s 32 councils.
It said so-called bin police weren’t working as a sole method of controlling the chaos, adding that the system needs to be “simpler”.
Martin Grey, of Viridor, said: “The public instinctively want to recycle and do the right thing.
“In a recent Viridor poll, eight in 10 people see ‘waste’ as a valuable resource.
“But we need to recognise barriers to recycling, make the system simpler and help people put the right stuff in the right bin.”
He added that councils should look towards using “less stick and more carrot”.
He said: “The so-called bin police only work on a small hard-core group. The majority of people just need educated on recycling.
“It’s about consistent collection systems, communication on what can be recycled and how if we all recycle it can impact the cash available for other council services.
“We’re working with Scottish Government and councils to achieve this.”
Earlier this month, as well as revealing how visits by waste officials had soared, we outlined the complex recycling systems run by different councils.
Some local authorities offer up to six bins while others have just two. A recent poll by Viridor found:
64% of people are frustrated about not knowing what things they can recycle. 69% would recycle more if the system was simpler.
73% want to know more about what will happen to their waste.
77% would recycle more if they could see how the money saved was being invested in public services at a local level.
Mr Grey added: “On the whole, recycling has been a real Scottish success story.