First for City As 20 Per Cent Waste Recycling Rate is in the Bag

EDINBURGH is recycling 20 per cent of all waste produced in the Capital for the first time.

Council chiefs say the amount of household and commercial waste being recycled has almost quadrupled in the space of just three years.

The Capital is thought to be well on its way to meeting a target of having a 27 per cent recycling rate by the end of 2007 – two per cent more than an official goal set by the Scottish Executive.

The huge improvement is being put down to a massive roll-out of new kerbside collections and on-street facilities backed by high- profile advertising campaigns and promotional initiatives.

A further roll-out of these facilities, the provision of recycling facilities for high-rise flats and tenements for the first time and overhauling the city’s waste dumps to transform them into community recycling centres are all being planned.

City environment leader Bob Cairns said: “It’s excellent news that we’ve reached a recycling rate of 20 per cent for the city, with more than 25 per cent of household waste recycled during the month of May alone.

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The total recycling rate in Edinburgh has virtually doubled in the past 18 months, since the Scottish Executive awarded the council GBP 83 million from its Strategic Waste Fund.

Around 40,000 households across the city are served by a new kerbside collection scheme and this should be extended to another 80,000 by the end of the year.

Mike Drewry, the council’s director of environmental and consumer services, said: “

One of the most significant recycling achievements has been the introduction of the first kerbside multi-material collections last month.

“These collections allow householders to recycle their cans, cardboard, glass, paper and textiles from their kerbside, and are expected to divert 16,000 tonnes of waste a year from landfill.”

Scottish Green Party leader Robin Harper said: “To have increased the recycling rate by 15 per cent in just three years is a very good achievement.

“However, it has to be remembered that Edinburgh is lagging badly behind cities in Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where the recycling rate can be as high as 50 per cent, while in some English authorities it is well over 30 per cent.”