Recycling rates up in Helensburgh - but more than half of waste is still going to landfill

According to figures in a report to Argyll and Bute Council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee, 44.9 per cent of all waste in the Helensburgh and Lomond area was either recycled, composted or recovered in 2017 – up more than 5 per cent on the 2016 figure.

In turn, the amount of waste from the area sent to landfill fell from 60.7 per cent to 55.1 per cent.

The figures lag behind those for Argyll and Bute as a whole, where almost half of all waste – 49.4 per cent – was recycled, composted or recovered in 2017, up from 46.5 per cent the previous year.

The report estimates that almost two-thirds of the total tonnage sent to landfill across Argyll and Bute is in the form of biodegradable waste – less than three years ahead of a Scotland-wide ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill.

Councillor Roddy McCuish, the council’s policy lead for roads and amenity services, said the figures confirmed that the council's move to three-weekly green bin collections in a bid to increase recycling was paying off.

“These figures are extremely encouraging," Cllr McCuish said, "and I would like to thank our local communities for getting on board with us and doing their bit for the environment.

"This isn’t something that we can do alone - we really need people to get on side.

“However, it’s important that we don’t become complacent. We need to continue our efforts to ensure our recycling rates continue to rise, and our landfill figures continue to decrease.

“Argyll and Bute is the second largest council area in Scotland, with 25 inhabited islands. This clearly has its own challenges compared with other local authorities, but we must work together to do everything we can to recycle and reduce landfill.

“In January 2021 a ban will be introduced by the Scottish Government on biodegradable waste to landfill. It is therefore vital that we are doing everything we can to increase our recycling even more by then.”