The campaign to introduce a new recycling service in South Ayrshire has been completed after a 10 month roll-out.
People in 57,000 properties are now being encouraged to help increase the quality of the recycling collected while also increasing the amount of materials recycled.
Two new smaller bins have been introduced for ‘Paper, Card and Cardboard’, and ‘Glass Bottles and Jars’, while existing blue bins are being used for ‘Metals, Plastics and Cartons’.
Uplift of the ‘Non-recyclable’ green bin has changed, with collections every three weeks.
The final stage of the programme has seen the service introduced to 4,500 properties in Monkton, Sundrum, St Quivox and parts of Ayr and the last remaining rural properties. The service went live in these areas on Monday, April 1.
Large quantities of recyclable materials and food waste are currently left in general waste bins and end up in landfill sites.
Council figures suggest that 36% of waste left in green bins is food; 14% is paper, card and cardboard; and 11% is metal, plastic and cartons – all of which can be recycled. Every year more than 20,000 tonnes of household waste is sent to landfill, leading to increased costs to the public expense.
Councillor Ian Cochrane, South Ayrshire Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, “With the final pieces of the jigsaw now in place, the whole of South Ayrshire is now using the new service, helping us to meet ambitious national recycling targets.
“We’ve taken a flexible approach with a mix of kerbside and communal services available.
“I appreciate the change is a shift in the way people have to recycle but we know from our rounds that the vast majority of people have switched.”
