New Pilot Kerbside Recycling Collection Service for Stornoway

In April this year Comhairle nan Eilean Siar commenced a fortnightly Pilot Kerbside Recycling Collection to homes in the Manor Park and Cearns area of Stornoway. Phase 1, which was offered to 450 households, was designed to test the performance of different collection systems to evaluate their suitability.

Following the success of the first phase of the pilot, Phase 2 will roll out this week offering the service to another 800 homes, with Phase 3 to 600 homes due to commence by mid August. All householders taking part in the scheme 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.

It is evident from the trials so far 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.

The wheelie bin acts as a housing system for the various recyclates with households receiving free disposable plastic bags for their plastics, a reusable Hessian bag for their paper products and blue kerbside baskets with handles 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. There has been a take up rate by households for Phase 1 and 2 of the new collection scheme of over 50%. 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.”

Picture – Mr & Mrs Campbell receiving their new containers for the Pilot Kerbside Collection from Sharon of the Waste Aware Western Isles Team. This is part of the roll-out of Phase 2 of the Pilot Kerbside Collection in Stornoway.