Phased restart soon for recycling collections

Recycling collections are set to begin again on a phased basis for households in Orkney Mainland, Burray and South Ronaldsay – and will take place weekly over the next four weeks.

There are no changes grey bin waste collections – which will continue on a fortnightly basis.

The first recycling collections will take place on your usual bin day during the week beginning Monday 25 May - and will be for glass only.

Further collections will then take place on a weekly basis – with plastic bottles picked up during the second week (beginning Monday 1 June), tins and cans during the third week (beginning Monday 8 June), and paper and thin cardboard during the fourth week (beginning Monday 15 June).

Green recycling bins and boxes should be put out on your usual bin day – but remember to do this weekly. You should remove the caddies inside - and the items for collection should be included in your single green bin or box as we will be unable to pick up more than one at a time.

Grey bin (and red bag) collections for household waste will continue on a fortnightly basis – again on your usual collection day.

“I’m very pleased that we can resume recycling collections once again – and I’m sure this will be welcomed by people across the Mainland and in the linked South Isles,” said Andrew Drever, vice-chair of OIC’s Development and Infrastructure Committee.

“We were left with no option other than to suspend recycling collections when Covid-19 measures were put in place - and I would like to thank folk for their patience over past weeks.

“We focused our efforts on maintaining a kerbside waste collection, potentially with a reduced workforce and as a result of social distancing requirements. We are now in a position where we can allocate additional staff to provide a recycling collection as well - and I look forward to this starting again next week.

“We appreciate the efforts that folk have gone to store recyclable items where they can, and also to reduce the levels of waste that needs to be collected. We are having to limit the recycling collections to single green bins each week. So we would ask people to remain patient and, if they cannot fit all their weekly items in a single bin, to continue storing some for future collections.”

Councillor Drever added: “We’ve tried to make the arrangements as straight forward as possible.

“You’ll be putting a green bin or box out weekly – and a grey bin or red bags once a fortnight. The thing to remember is to do this on the day of the week when your bins would normally be collected.

“We will be using a mix of waste and recycling vehicles to help us clear the backlog, with all materials collected to be sent for recycling.”

The recycling collections will take place as follows:

• Week beginning Monday 25 May – put glass out in your green bin or box on your usual collection day.
• Week beginning Monday 1 June – put plastic bottles out in your green bin or box on your usual collection day.
• Week beginning Monday 8 June – put tins and cans our in your green bin or box on your usual collection day.
• Week beginning Monday 15 June – put paper and light cardboard out in your green bin or box on your usual collection day.
• For weeks when you would normally put out your grey bin (or red bags), continue to do this on the same day – even if you are putting both a green and a grey bin (or red bags) out on that same day.

Meanwhile, the council is currently developing plans for the partial re-opening of some Household Waste Recycling Centres in June, in line with the recent announcement by the local government organisation, COSLA, and subject to further guidance from the Scottish Government.

The possibility of resuming recycling collections in Westray and Shapinsay and re-opening isles recycling points is also being looked at.

More information will be provided soon.