Households who fail to recycle properly could soon be hit with a fee by their local council in a bid to reduce landfill waste. Continue reading Making a mess of recycling? Households could soon be charged a return fee
Tag: recycling
‘Smart’ recycling bins unveiled in bid to help thousands more young people across Scotland
A charity dedicated to helping young people across Scotland has unveiled, in partnership with Nathan’s Wastesavers new state-of-the-art clothing collection points across the region.
The ‘Netbin nLoK system’ recycling bins are being rolled out across ASDA supermarkets following a substantial rise in donations to Children’s charity Cash for Kids.
The devices use cutting-edge technology linked to a smartphone app enabling the charity’s team of workers to remotely unlock and lock bins, as well as monitoring when the bin is near capacity, to avoid it overflowing.
The new initiative, in partnership with textiles recycling leader Nathan’s Wastesavers and Egbert Taylor Holdings, has been introduced after Cash for Kids have received record clothing donations in 2017.
Emma Kemp, Regional Charity Manager for Cash for Kids, said: “In 2017, Cash for Kids broke new records with over £5.8 million raised and more than 268,000 young people receiving assistance from the charity across Scotland.
“Clothing donations played a significant part in helping us help even more people and we want to ensure that our recycling bins are fit for the future with greater capacity and better technology to speed up the process of collecting donations and turning them into the cash that provides such vital support.”
Kevin McBride, VP Retail North, at ASDA, commented: “Asda has been working with Cash for Kids for many years now and in the last 10 years the textile Bank scheme through Nathan’s Wastesavers has helped to raise over £750,000 to support disadvantaged children across Scotland.
“It therefore makes sense to launch this pioneering new system with two organisations that we have such a successful relationship.”
Peter Page, National Recycling Manager at Nathan’s Wastesavers, added: “The technology is pretty transformational as it increases security, safety and efficiency.
“By using a simple smartphone application, everyone involved in the management of the recycling process is in complete control, cutting down in wasted time checking bins, avoiding any unsightly overflows and ensuring that the bins are locked and always secure.”
Registration for controversial new brown bin service opens on Monday
Registration for garden waste collections will open next week ahead of the introduction of a controversial new service in October. From Monday (18th June), Edinburgh residents must sign up on the Council website or at one of five local offices.if they wish to continue receiving brown bin collections. The annual brown bin collection service will cost residents £25.
Continue reading Registration for controversial new brown bin service opens on Monday
Oxgangs community recycling project scoops Big Lottery funding
The National Lottery is helping bring people together in communities across Scotland as 18 groups across the country receive a cash boost totalling £1,950,722. One of them is Oxgangs social enterprise Best Bib & Tucker CIC, who receive over £116,000. Continue reading Oxgangs community recycling project scoops Big Lottery funding
Scottish householders urged to resolve to recycle more for 2018
New report highlights huge potential to increase recycling in Scotland
60% of landfill waste could be recycled, needlessly costing Councils £50m a year
Food waste a top priority, with only 27% being correctly recycled 
Almost two-thirds of waste that ends up in non-recyclable waste bins – or ‘the bin that goes to landfill’ – in Scottish households could have been recycled, according to a new Zero Waste Scotland report. Continue reading Scottish householders urged to resolve to recycle more for 2018
City council dreams of a green Christmas
Bin collections will be made as easy as possible this festive period, the city council has announced.
Since the approval of a Waste and Cleansing Improvement plan in November 2016, enquiries about communal, kerbside and trade waste have seen a downward trend, with half the number of complaints in the first three weeks of December compared to the same period in 2015.
Communal bin collection service to be overhauled
Edinburgh’s communal bin collection system is set to be redesigned to improve the service for thousands of residents across the city, subject to approval by the city council’s Transport and Environment Committee tomorrow. As part of the shake-up, a trial would see communal landfill and packaging bin collections increased to every other day, as opposed to the current average rate of twice weekly.
Continue reading Communal bin collection service to be overhauled
City recycling rates rise
Gearing up for Pass It On Week
Tomorrow marks the start of Pass It On Week – and it lasts ten days!
With this year’s Pass It On Week starting tomorrow, now is the perfect time to clear out cupboards, wardrobes, garages and sheds of unwanted or unused stuff that could have a useful life with someone else. From clothes to bikes, books to sports kit and gadgets to tools, everything is potential re-use treasure. Continue reading Gearing up for Pass It On Week
Council prunes back garden waste service
Collections of garden waste will be changing for residents across Edinburgh from March. Brown bins will now be collected by the City of Edinburgh Council once every three weeks all year round, instead of every two weeks in the summer and four weeks in the winter.
The council says the change will result in more consistent collections throughout the year.
The change to the service was agreed as part of last year’s budget in order to enable the service to continue running despite increasing financial pressures. Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “We know how much the garden waste service is valued by residents and that’s why we continue to provide it.
“These changes to the frequency of collections will result in more consistency throughout the year, but will also enable us to keep providing this service, which I know has not been possible for all Councils amidst increasing financial constraints.”
Stickers and tags will be applied to bins over the coming weeks to remind residents of the change, and 2017 bin calendars can be downloaded from the Council website, detailing the date on which three-weekly collections begin.
In some cases there will be an interim collection before the three-weekly collections begin. The residents concerned will receive a letter informing them of the date of this interim collection.
Any extra waste which can’t be fitted into bins can be taken to local Community Recycling Centres in Sighthill, Seafield or Craigmillar.
Find out more about bins and recycling, including bin collection calendars, on the Council website.