New drive to boost recycling figures

North Lanarkshire Council will be monitoring the materials placed in blue bins and tagging those that contain

items that cannot be recycled or should be placed in another bin.

If a bin is badly contaminated, it will not be emptied.

This action is designed to reduce contamination, resulting in waste that should be recycled going to landfill

which costs more and harms the environment.

“Thanks to the efforts of residents, we are recycling around 81,420 tonnes of household waste each year,” said environmental services committee convener Councillor Michael McPake.

“That’s excellent but we need to keep improving both the quality and quantity of recycling.

“As well as the environmental benefits, it makes financial sense - the average cost to dispose of general domestic waste is £100 per tonne, but processing good quality recyclable material costs £23 a tonne.

“So we’re asking residents to make sure they put all paper, card, plastic and metal in their blue bin, glass in the glass bin and food waste in the caddy.

“When people place items like food waste, nappies and bags in the blue bins, it can contaminate the whole

lorry load so when it’s processed all the waste has to go to landfill and the council is charged a fee.

“By taking care to place the right materials in the right bin, we will maximise our recycling efforts and lower our costs.”

The council is working towards the Scottish Government’s target of recycling 60 per cent of all household waste by 2020.