Stirling residents will receive a new glass bin starting October 8. The 55 litre boxes will be replaced with 140 litre bins.
Currently, Stirling residents have 4 types of 140 litre bins; grey for non recyclable waste, green for paper and cardboard, blue for plastic containers and metal cans, and brown for food waste. Glass is recycled in small boxes.
From next week, the roll out of new glass bins will begin. Residents will receive a letter outlining the details of the changes. Bin workers will collect the old boxes on the next glass bin collection day.
Councillor Jen Preston, Convener* of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee said that having bins instead of boxes will remove the need for boxes to be carried to the kerbside and reduce risks for bin workers.
Glass recycling is treated differently throughout the Forth Valley. In Clackmannanshire, residents are asked to take it to a community recycling point. Meanwhile, in Falkirk a box is provided. The Glaswegian bin system of 5 bins is what Stirling is shifting to.
The new bins cost £845k which will be covered by the UK government’s Extended Producer Responsibility scheme. EPR is “about ensuring that producers bear responsibility for the environmental impacts of products they place on the market”, according to Zero Waste Scotland.
The scheme is also intended to incentivise manufacturers to produce environmentally friendly packaging.
Packaging producers had to declare the amount of packaging they’ve produced so far this year by the October 1 and producers will in turn be charged by tonnage. Profit will be recycled into the funds of local councils to aid them in covering the cost of recycling.
*Convener – someone who is elected to lead a meeting or chair a committee
Featured Image Credit: Stirling Council
