Where can I recycle?

Recycling Centres & Points

There are a range of facilities to help you recycle unwanted household items, domestic and garden waste including recycling points, household recycling centres, and a number of drop-off points and charity shops. Some local Authorities also operate kerbside recycling collections. A total of 797,034 tonnes (27.57%) of household waste was recycled in Scotland from April 2005 to March 2006. To find out where specific materials can be recycled use the 'materials search' below in the link below. Alternatively, you can find your nearest Recycling facility using the 'postcode search'.

Recycle for Scotland

Bulky Uplift

Each local authority provides a service for uplifting bulky household items. Uplifts can be requested by telephone or at your local office, and may involve a charge. Some local authorities are able to Recycle or arrange for the Reuse of some of the items collected via their bulky uplift service. You may also be able to donate your unwanted items to community groups in your area to be Re-used by others.

Scottish Councils can be found here.

How can I reduce, reuse and recycle my waste?

Hints to reducing your waste at home;

• Segregate your organic waste from the main waste stream and compost it. Organic waste forms a large portion of household waste and it is easy to deal with at home. You can order compost bins from your local authority.
• Contact your local authority and see if your area is serviced by a recyclables bin. 
• When shopping, make efforts to purchase products such as fruit and vegetables loose, rather than packaged to reduce the amount of packaging you have to throw out;
• Avoid purchasing products with excess packaging;
• Bring long-life shopping bags in order to reduce the amount of packaging you bring home;
• Buy products that are re-fillable where possible;
• Make every effort to purchase goods made from recycled materials. This will help create markets for recyclable materials.
• Squash recyclable and non-recyclable packaging to the smallest volume possible to minimise space taken up.
• Local purchases before organic purchases.

Hints to reducing your waste in the office;

• Where possible, print office reports, memos, internal manuals in double-sided format or on previously used paper;
• Send e-mail memos to save paper;
• Reuse envelopes
• Where appropriate, undertake as much contact by e-mail as possible rather than by paper letter or memo.
• Try not to print e-mails unnecessarily;
• Store data on computer servers or on disc instead of paper files;
• Order stationary supplies in bulk in order to cut down on packaging; and 
• Reuse boxes where possible.
• Buy recycled products and close the recycling loop.
• Undertake a waste audit to identify areas where waste can be reduced and possible savings can be made.
• Consider the use of reusable multi-trip packaging to cut down on the amount of waste produced from your business activity. You could also contact your suppliers to see whether they can deliver goods in reusable packaging.
• Speak with businesses in close proximity to see if you can set up a recycling station for your collective recyclable wastes. This is an economically viable and efficient way of recycling commercial waste.