Christmas Shoppers in Scotland Urged to Use ‘Recycle On The Go’ Bins

Shoppers are being urged to use Recycle on the Go bins now the festive season is in full swing. Recycle on the Go is a government funded project managed by Zero Waste Scotland which provides easy-to-use, conveniently located recycling facilities in popular public locations to help Scotland achieve a higher recycling rate.

All over the country people are already benefiting from the installation of specially branded facilities for separating and recycling waste.

Zero Waste Scotland and RECOUP, the UK’s leading authority on plastics recycling, recently revisited and refreshed a number of the bins, including those which are in place at three major locations; Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, St Enoch Centre and the SECC in Glasgow.

The units are used for collection of plastic bottles, papers and cans and are playing an important part in helping Scotland work towards a zero waste society.

Richard Lochhead, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for the Environment said: “This is a time of year when people will be laden down with packaging, bags, and bottles as they carry out their Christmas shopping. The Recycle on the Go bins are an ideal way to encourage people to recycle what they don’t need, instead of having to cart it home with them and perhaps end up in the general waste bin.

“Having proper recycling bins in our towns and cities is a great incentive to make people view recycling as the norm, and hopefully it will become second nature to everyone to dispose of their recyclable materials properly.”

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland commented: “Now that we’re in the run up to Christmas, shopping centres in particular will be very busy and we’d like to encourage people to make good use of the bins.

“Recycle on the Go facilities are  a fantastic way of encouraging large volumes of people to recycle when away from home in a convenient, fun and easy-to-use way.

“Providing recycling facilities in popular public locations will also help Scotland achieve a higher recycling rate and bring financial benefits. It is estimated that achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2025 could boost Scotland’s economy by around £178million.”

Anne Hitch, Communications Manager at RECOUP said: “It’s evident from providing Recycle on the Go bins that they are an important part of recycling opportunities at shopping centres, schools, colleges, hospitals and tourist attractions.

“We hope that shoppers will embrace the opportunity to recycle and that the clear signage will help people to differentiate between which materials go in which bin.”

Zero Waste Scotland has also produced some other useful tips for Christmas shoppers this season. These are:

• Remember to take carrier bags along with you, that way you will avoid the 5p charge and also help the environment.

• Consider buying gifts from a re-use store rather than brand new from the high street. By doing so you will be saving both CO2 and money. Find out where your local re-use stores are located by visiting www.revolvereuse.com

• When it comes to buying food items for Christmas dinner, plan menus and portion sizes in advance, and take a list with you to prevent overbuying.  You can also start thinking about what tasty meals you can turn any turkey leftovers into now. Visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for more tips and tricks on how to reduce food waste.

Organisations can find out how they can implement Recycle on the Go facilities by visiting the Recycling for Scotland website.

There is more information on RECOUP and their hints and tips on best practise recycling here.