Roll out of South Ayrshire's new recycling service is now complete

The campaign to introduce a new recycling service in South Ayrshire has now been completed following a 10 month Council campaign.

Householders 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 the existing blue bins are being used for ‘Metals, Plastics and Cartons’. Uplift of the 'Non-recyclable' green bin has changed, with collections taking place 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 1 April.

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 to how we do this and with a mix of kerbside and communal services available we’ve been working with our communities to deliver the right service to different areas.

“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 over to the new system with no real issues.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their co-operation in the last few months – your help has made all the difference in helping to make this a success.”

The Scottish Government has set a national target to recycle 70% of all waste by 2025. To improve South Ayrshire’s current household recycling rate, which is just over 55%, new ways of collecting materials are being put in place. This development is being supported by a grant from Zero Waste Scotland which aims to improve consistency in recycling services across Scotland.

Adrian Bond, Programme Manager for Recycling, Zero Waste Scotland said:“We’re delighted that South Ayrshire is playing its part in creating a more consistent recycling collection for Scotland by aligning with the Household Recycling Charter. With 30 councils already signed up to the Charter, it’s great to see partners committed to maximising high-quality recycling. Separate collections for different types of items result in higher quality streams of material for turning back into new products which helps the economy as well as the environment.

“Doing our bit for the environment by putting recyclable materials in the right bin continues to be very important for us all. By doing this, we reduce the amount of waste building up in landfill while recovering valuable resources to be used again and again. We’d like to thank the residents of South Ayrshire for their continued efforts to keep on recycling.”

For more information visit the website or to discuss the new service, please phone customer services on 0300 123 0900.