New Pilot Kerbside Recycling Collection Service for Stornoway

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar have expanded their Kerbside Recycling System to a further 800 homes. The scheme started in April this year and provided a fortnightly Pilot Kerbside Recycling Collection to homes in the Manor Park and Cearns area of Stornoway.

Originally it was offered to 450 households and was designed to test the performance of different collection systems to evaluate their suitability. The additional houses added to the scheme are due to the success of the service. Further to the additional 800 houses, there shall be an expansion of another 600 homes to the scheme in mid August of this year.

All householders taking part have been visited by a member of the Waste Aware Team to explain how the new service will work and what can be recycled in their new containers.

The trials so far show that the preferred system of both the householder and operational staff is the Western Isles answer to kerbside collection, ‘The Wheelie Bin System’, which takes into account the weather that affects this area of the country.

Households involved in the scheme receive free disposable plastic bags for their plastics, a reusable bag for their paper products and blue baskets for their cans and glass, all of which are placed in the green wheelie bin on collection day.

Feedback from householders has been extremely positive and by mid August the service will have been offered to almost 2000 homes in Stornoway. Over 50% of households have taken up the new collection scheme. Householders are reminded though that even if the service has started in their area, they are not too late to join the new scheme and can still contact the Waste Aware Team to register and have their containers delivered to them.

Councillor Angus Nicolson, Chair of Environmental Services Committee said:

“This initiative will help the Western Isles greatly in meeting its recycling targets and any householders who have not signed up for the service are encouraged to do so.

Although we would have liked to have been able to offer this kerbside collection services throughout the Western Isles, it has only been possible on economic grounds to introduce the service in the Stornoway area.

We have however greatly expanded our rural bring site network to improve public access to this service and we will be introducing a wheeled bin collection service for organic waste including paper, later in this year to all areas.”

Nigel Scott
Communications Officer
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Tel: 01851 709389 (Work)
Tel: 07884 236103 (Mobile)
email: nscott@cne-siar.gov.uk