Falkirk district residents urged to recycle more as ‘it’s in our own hands’

Councillor Paul Garner with Lois and Leo Friel highlighting what items can be placed in the blue and burgundy bins. Pic: Michael Gillen.

Organisers of the annual awareness raising campaign – WRAP, under the Recycle Now brand – are hoping  members of the public will realise they are the ones who can play their part and help to make a difference when it comes to recycling.

Recycle Week is now in its 17th year and organisers say 2018 was the year that ‘Britain woke up to recycling’ and 2019 is the year to take action.

The aim is to inspire and support people to take action and make recycling the new norm.

Everyone can recycle more and there are huge benefits to recycling items from all around the home.

As part of the annual campaign, Zero Waste Scotland is focusing on food waste because Scottish households throw away 600,000 tonnes of it every year.

The public can help fight climate change by reducing and recycling their food waste.

The campaign is in response to the damaging impact food waste can have on the planet.

When sent to landfill, food waste releases methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Unavoidable food waste from cooking may seem insignificant but using the food recycling caddy is a must - especially during the climate emergency.

“Vegetable peelings, tea bags and egg shells are a few examples of things that can be recycled.

“Recycling food waste is a simple approach to making sure it doesn’t go to waste.

“This Recycle Week, we want to make clear the positives of recycling food waste.

“The benefits for the planet are huge as food waste can be converted into clean, sustainable energy used to power Scotland.

“We’ve made great strides in food waste recycling, but there is more we can do.”

Around 40 per cent of the 600,000 tonnes of food waste produced by households in Scotland every year is unavoidable.

According to the Scottish Government’s 2017 Scottish Household survey, only 55 per cent of Scottish  households say they recycle their food waste, despite around 80 per cent having access to a food  recycling caddy.

But it’s not just food waste that we should be trying to recycle more of, people should be trying to recycle as much of their waste as possible to reduce the amount going to landfill.

To find out more about local recycling services visit the council’s website

For information and tips on reducing and recycling your waste visit Greener Scotland’s website