Council sets out top tips to make festive recycling in Renfrewshire easier

Residents in Renfrewshire are being encouraged to recycle effectively this Christmas to help deal with the extra packaging and food waste that comes with the festive period.

Renfrewshire Council is asking residents to use all of their bins this Christmas as recycling plays a key part in ensuring there is enough space in each bin in between collections.

The council’s top tips include:

• Flattening all cardboard boxes to create room in the blue bin
• Ensuring left over festive food goes into the brown bin or food caddy, and not the general waste bin
• Any empties like cans or bottles should go into the green bin
• Paper, card and cardboard goes in the blue bin, only polystyrene and plastic wrapping has to go into the grey bin
• If it’s got glitter or foil, then it’s not recyclable.
• Tinsel, baubles and fairy lights go into your general waste bin as they can’t be recycled.
• Real Christmas trees can be recycled from 3 to 9 January at Barshaw, Lochwinnoch, Barwood and Thomas Shanks Public Parks, or at the recycling centres in Paisley and Linwood

Renfrewshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres are only closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and are open as normal every day for residents to dispose of any extra waste that Christmas brings.

Councillor Cathy McEwan, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “We’re all well aware of the increase in waste that we create over the festive period which is why it is so important that you recycle correctly and use all your bins.

“Separating your food waste into your brown bin or food waste caddy will create more space than you’d think in your grey bin, as will ensuring all paper, card and cardboard goes into your blue bin.

“Keep all your cans and glass together and put them straight into your green bin, taking the time to separate everything will make a real difference to the space you have and also to our environment.

“We need to work together to tackle climate change and recycling is a key part of this so please do your bit and think recycling this Christmas.”

The bin collection service in Renfrewshire is running as normal throughout the festive period, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Grey, green and rural bin collections due on those days will move to 26 December and 2 January, while blue, brown and food waste bins will be collected on 27 December and 3 January.

All other bin collections not on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day will be collected as normal.

For more information on bin collections or recycling in Renfrewshire, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/mybins