Household refuse and recycling welcome pack
Outer Isles
excluding Shapinsay
IMAGE: Cover photograph showing a coastal landscape with a narrow strip of land between two bodies of water. The cover text reads “Household refuse and recycling welcome pack”, “Outer Isles”, and “excluding Shapinsay”. The Orkney Islands Council crest and the words “ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL” appear at the bottom.
Welcome
This welcome pack tells you the basics about the waste and recycling services available to Isles residents. It also sets out information about the Council’s bulky item special collection service. Our Household Refuse and Recycling Service Policies document sets out this information in greater detail. It can be read and downloaded via the Council’s website here: www.orkney.gov.uk/our-services/waste-and-recycling/policies-and-plans-waste-and-recycling/
Why Recycle?
It is important that we try to reduce the volume of waste sent for incineration. Residents, businesses, community groups, clubs and others can do this by thinking about their buying choices, reducing waste and recycling more. On the Isles you can use the communal recycling facilities available, which are typically located at the pier head. Isles residents can use these facilities to recycle glass, metals, thin card and mixed paper.
If all cans in the UK were recycled we could get rid of 14 million dustbins
IMAGE: Photograph showing a collection of green glass bottles.
IMAGE: Photograph showing a pile of metal cans, including crushed and uncrushed cans.
IMAGE: Photograph showing a person breaking down a cardboard box outdoors.
IMAGE: Photograph showing orange communal recycling containers labelled “PAPER ONLY”, “MIXED GLASS”, and “MIXED CANS”.
Outer Isles
Refuse is collected in black bags on a weekly basis on all of the outer isles except Shapinsay. Residents can apply for a wheelie bin for storage of their bags.
There are communal household recycling points on each of the outer isles, typically at the pier head, where residents can dispose of a range of recyclable materials including glass/paper and thin card/cans, tin foil and empty aerosols.
Isles Collection days
To find out the collection day for the island you reside, please follow this link: www.orkney.gov.uk/our-services/waste-and-recycling/household-waste-and-recycling/your-household-collection-service-isles
Missed collection?
If you have experienced a missed collection please contact our customer services team who will be able to provide further details on what to do next. If your collection has been missed you will need to represent your waste on your next scheduled collection day.
Require additional bags?
All Isles, excluding Stronsay, should contact customer services on 01856 873535 to request more bags. Stronsay residents can collect additional bags from the Island Link Office.
Household Bulky Waste Collection Service
If you have something bulky to dispose of and it is still in reasonable condition you could donate it to a charity such as Restart Orkney or maybe you could consider selling your items online first. The councils website has details of where to donate here: www.orkney.gov.uk/our-services/waste-and-recycling/recycling-and-reuse
Unable to take it yourself? The Council offers a household bulky waste collection service four times per year.
Items must be able to be safely lifted by 2 people (or the item will not be taken).
The collections are scheduled a minimum of two collections in advance and occur quarterly. The date of the collection is week commencing an can happen in the week, your contractor should let you know closer to the time.
You can find out when your next collection will be here: www.orkney.gov.uk/mybins
Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs)
If you are able to take things to the mainland you can use the HWRC’s at – Bossack in Tankerness, Garson Industrial Estate, Stromness and Hatston Industrial Estate, Crowness Crescent, Kirkwall.
Each site is equipped with bins and skips residents can use to dispose or recycle a wide range of household items – everything from domestic waste to scrap metal, furniture, carpets, cans, plastic bottles, cardboard, paper and juice cartons. These sites are not for trade waste and if a trades person, self-employed or other does work on your house, they must not dispose of any materials taken from your house to these sites.
Additionally there are Recycling Centres at Cursiter in Firth, St Margaret's Hope and Dounby where you can dispose of certain recycling streams.
The opening hours and information about what can be disposed of at the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centre’s are advertised on the Council’s website here: -
www.orkney.gov.uk/hwrc
IMAGE: Photograph of a recycling sign reading “At this site you can recycle:” followed by “paper”, “building materials”, “cardboard”, “electrical”, “glass”, “batteries”, “food & drink cans”, “car batteries”, “textiles”, “used engine oil”, “garden waste”, and “and more...”. The sign also reads “Orkney recycles”.
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous materials such as asbestos, flares, explosives, gas cylinders, solvents, pesticides or live ammunition should not be disposed of within your household bin or at any of the Household Waste Recycling Centres. For more details visit our website www.orkney.gov.uk/our-services/waste-and-recycling/hazardous-waste-materials or call Customer services on 873535 for how to dispose of these items safely.
Other hazardous waste materials such as chemicals (printer toners etc), electrical equipment, light tubes, vehicle batteries, oils (engine) can be disposed of through the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centre network.
IMAGE: Yellow warning sign with a black triangular exclamation mark and the words “hazardous waste”.
IMAGE: Photograph showing large, strapped and covered packages on wooden pallets.
IMAGE: Photograph showing a row of coloured gas cylinders.
Food Waste/Composting
Did you know that approximately 30% of the average household black bag/ grey bin is organic waste, the majority of which can be composted at home? Orkney Islands Council is currently exempt from the legislative requirements to separate food waste for treatment. Therefore, and as per the Council’s commitment to the Household Recycling Charter outcomes, we encourage Orkney residents to think about composting in the absence of a food waste collection service. This will further reduce the residual waste left to throw in your black bag/grey bin.
Residents can purchase a hot bin composter (Green Johanna) at a reduced price through Great Green Systems UK via the Council’s Website.
getcomposting.com
This bin requires both food waste and green garden waste to work effectively and does not attract vermin. The result if used correctly is a nutrient rich compost for the garden. It has been shown to work well in Orkney’s climate.
Love Food Hate Waste also has ideas and advice on how to save more and waste less food. Visit their website for recipes, storage solutions and money saving ideas.
lovefoodhatewaste.com
IMAGE: Graphic labelled “Green Johanna - Food and Garden Waste” showing food waste and garden waste being combined to produce compost in a green compost bin.
Getting your recycling right
Recycling must be empty rinsed and dry to avoid contamination as recycling is more valuable when it is clean.
It is also helpful if residents place the lids of their metal cans inside and squash the top slightly. this can prevent the thin lids escaping into parts of the machinery, which can lead to damage.
Cans generally though should'nt be crushed entirely as this can affect the bailing process.
Empty aerosols can be included along with foil trays and clean tin foil with the cans.
Do make sure that the aerosols are empty.
Do not pierce, crush or flatten aerosols before recycling.
Remember, not all products tha appear to be aluminium foil are recyclable. For example, some crisp packets or pet food pouches can look like aluminium foil, but they are made from metalised plastic and cannot be recycled. If it springs back after scrunching it is not aluminum.
IMAGE: Photograph showing pale, overlapping pieces of material or packaging. No text is legible.
IMAGE: Photograph showing clear and green glass bottles and jars.
IMAGE: Photograph showing crushed aluminium cans.