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Recycling

All Recycling and Reuse pages can be accessed from the 'More pages in this section' menu.

Notice: Recycling Guide for Outer Isles has been made inaccessible for review

Recycling in Orkney

Orkney Islands Council provides a variety of ways for residents and businesses to recycle waste. More information on local facilities can be found in this section and by viewing the document 'What to Recycle', available from 'Related Downloads' section of this page.

What to know before you throw

Recycling as much material as possible is so important for many reasons including:

• It saves the environment - did you know it can take more than 450 years for a plastic bottle to fully decompose?
• It saves you money - get more food conscious via the love food hate waste website and save your wallet.
• It saves the Council money - each ton of waste shipped to Shetland for incineration costs us approximately £150.00. The more you help us take out, the less it costs, which can be re-invested in crucial frontline services.
• It helps contribute to Scotland's Zero Waste Targets. By 2025, the Scottish Government is aiming for 70% of all waste streams to be recycled.

Where Does our Recycling Go?

The 'Where Does Our Recycling Go?' document available from the #Related Downloads' section of this page gives details, destinations and examples of final use of the recycling collected from our household waste recycling centres and from domestic and commercial properties.

Where Can I Donate?

• CLAN, 30 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DN, 01856873393.
• The Orkney Food Bank. Dunkirk, Shore Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1LG. 01856 873685 or 07719293378
• British Red Cross, 68 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DN, 01856879744.
• Restart Orkney, 62 Junction Road, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1AR, 01856879777.
• Orkney Zerowaste Yard, Garson Place, Stromness, Orkney, KW16 3EE (just along from the recycling center).
• Home-Start Orkney, 7 Main Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1BU, 01856870770.
• The Blue Door, 63 Victoria Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1DQ, 01856873897.
• Orkney Cats, 85-87 Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3BS.
• Salvation Army Shop, Unit 2, Anchor Buildings, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1HR, 01856877250.
• British Red Cross Shop, 2 Graham Place, Stromness, Orkney KW16 3BY, 01856850913.
• The Peedie Cubby, 51 Victoria Street, Kirkwall KW15 1DN
• Mind On, 8 Albert Street, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1HP. 07825417774.
• ODD Animals Rescue, 44 Albert Street, Kirkwall. KW15 1HQ
• Bargain Box, Westray Development Trust offices and the Höfn, Quarry Road, Westray, 01857677858
• The Front Porch – Ebenezer Stores, Whitehall Village, KW17 2AR
• Sanday Reuse Centre, In the Temperance Hall behind the Heritage Centre. Call Heather on 01857 600274 before visiting.

Find out more

The 'Recycle for Scotland' website is a fantastic resource for finding out information on recycling, with advice on how to reduce the amount of waste you produce, how to reuse household items instead of throwing them out. A link to this website can be found under the 'Related Sites' section.

To find out about more recycling figures, visit the Defra website, available from the 'Related Sites' section of this page. Once on the site, select 'The Environment' and then 'Waste and Recycling' for information on recycling.

Scotland's Deposit Return Scheme

Orkney is the centre for a pilot of some of the logistical aspects of the Scottish Government’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Due to come into effect in October 2025, the DRS scheme is aimed at increasing capture of single use drinks containers around the country, through a network of return points.

The final scheme will see anyone who sells drinks containers obliged to accept empty bottles and return the 20p deposit paid at the point of sale to the consumer.

• ZeroWaste Scotland website