Residents save 4,000 tonnes from landfill

West Dunbartonshire Council has diverted more than 4,000 tonnes, the equivalent of 360 full bin lorries, away from landfill thanks to recycling efforts by residents in the past 18 months.

In the financial years of 2011/12 the Council sent 14,147 tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill which was well under the target allowance of 18,536 tonnes set by the Scottish Government. 

Since the Scottish Government introduced the biodegradable municipal waste target in 2006, the Council has met its targets every year. In the past three years the Council has achieved a 15 percentage improvement in household waste recycling performance due to the commitment of householders in managing their waste in a more sustainable way and making good use of the services provided by the Council.

Cllr David McBride, Convener of Housing, Environmental and Economic Development said: "These results are further evidence that residents are making really good progress with their recycling. To keep raising our recycling rate, we need residents to keep making good use of the recycling service we provide.

He added: "Saving thousands of tonnes from landfill is a fantastic achievement, however, we cannot be complacent, we need to continue to raise awareness of recycling and waste reduction and keep the amount we send to landfill in the future as low as possible."

The Council is keen to build on this success and plan to introduce a trial of weekly food waste collection this year for flats and tenements to complement the existing food waste collection service for low-level housing.

Councillor Lawrence O'Neill, Depute Convener of Housing, Environmental and Economic Development said: "We are very grateful to householders for their recycling efforts which have helped us to recycle more of our waste. However, we are keen to help residents recycle even more and the introduction of weekly food collections will help us to achieve even better results next year. I am confident the people ofWest Dunbartonshirewill rise to the challenge and recycle even more of their household waste with the help of these extra collections."