Plastics Recycling in Orkney

Here on Orkney, we accept type 1 (PET) and type 2 (HDPE) plastics bottles only. The 'Types of Plastic' document available from the 'Related downloads' section of this page gives a brief overview of the most common types of plastic, what products you can find these types of plastic in, the symbol and whether it is accepted by Orkney Islands Council as part of the kerbside collection.

Did you know?

The ocean may already contain more than 150 million tonnes of plastic. Humans are currently dumping the equivalent of one waste truck’s worth of plastic packaging into the ocean every minute and unless action is taken this is predicted to rise to four per minute by 2050.

At that point there would be more plastic than fish in the sea.

It’s unlikely that plastic disposed of by households in Scotland ends up in the sea, it will be recycled or end up in landfills or incinerators. Save your plastic from being incinerated or landfilled – neither of which are good for the environment either. Put it into the recycling bin – give your plastic a second chance.

What can I do?

• Buy a reusable cup instead of buying a bottle of water.
• Take park in a beach clean.
• Recycle all you can.
• Reuse plastic containers for storage.
• Reuse carrier bags when shopping.