Reducing the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill is at the heart of what we do. It’s best for the planet, and it saves money that can be used to protect services that matter to our residents.
We encourage people to do what they can to:
- reduce the amount of rubbish you produce, for example
- re-use items, where possible, rather than throw them away, and
- use all the options for recycling available to you. Only then should we send materials to landfill
More and more people recycle every day. Thank you for everything that you do, and by working together we can do more to protect our environment and our services.
Recycling in your area
There are a wide range of ways you can recycle, from your household recycling collections to your local recycling facilities. Find out what's available in your area here:
- Bute recycling
- Coll recycling
- Colonsay recycling
- Dunoon and Cowal recycling
- Helensburgh and Lomond recycling
- Islay and Jura recycling
- Kintyre and Campbeltown recycling
- Mid ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Tarbert recycling
- Mull and Iona recycling
- Oban and Lorn recycling
- Tiree recycling
Batteries
Please do not put any batteries in your rubbish bin. Batteries release toxic chemicals into the environment and can cause fires – in bins, bin lorries and waste facilities – when not disposed of properly.
Household batteries are accepted at your local and some shops.
Lithium-ion batteries, the sort you find in laptops, tablets and other gadgets, should be removed from your unwanted device if possible and deposited alongside WEEE items at your recycling centre.
Find out more about how and .
Green garden waste
We encourage residents wherever possible to recycle their green and garden wastes. One option is to which supports the environment and saves money by providing free compost for next year’s gardening.
Alternatively, you can take it to your local recycling centre where it will be sent for composting or recovery.
Finally, garden waste can be placed in your green bin where it will be disposed of appropriately.
On no account should garden waste be fly-tipped. This is an offence, costs public money to remove and can result in a fine.
Plastic bags and wrapping
Some major supermarkets accept different types of soft plastic bags and packaging for recycling instore. For more information on what kind of wrapping can be recycled at which supermarkets, check out the
Find out what happens to the items you recycle in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute.
A good source of waste reduction, re-use and recycling information is available through the Zero Waste Scotland website -
Advice on recycling plastics in your kerbside recycling
Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays can be recycled in your kerbside recycling collection.
Some plastics have numbers to identify the type of plastic they are. The ones we accept for recycling are plastic symbol numbers:
- 1 - Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
- 2 - High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
- 5 – Polypropylene (PP)
Not all plastics have identifying numbers, and if it doesn’t have a number, it doesn’t mean it can’t be recycled, just stick to the advice on which types of plastics we accept
also has useful information on their website about recycling plastics