Waste and recycling services for businesses

If you run a food business located in an urban area which produces over 50kg of food waste per week, you must present it for separate collection
The requirement to present food waste for separate collection will extend to all food businesses, in urban areas, producing over 5kg of food waste per week from 1 January 2016
Where food waste collections are available, it will be illegal to dispose of food into the public sewer, e.g. using a macerator

If your business is located in a rural area, you may be exempt from all the food waste requirements within the Regulations, although you may still want to examine the economic benefits of recycling. To check if your business premises has been defined as being in a rural or urban area, please use use Zero Waste Scotland's postcode search tool.

Why should your business recycle food waste?

Ensures compliance with legislation
Can improve stock purchase and management systems
Will enable you to audit your waste streams and optimise your commercial waste contract
Reduces waste sent to landfill, and improves your businesses 'green' credentials
Reduces contamination of other recyclable material

Plastic, cans and carton recycling

The following items can be recycled in your commercial grey bin:

Plastics - Rinsed and Squashed
Soft plastics - un bagged
Metals - Empty and rinsed
Cartons - (e.g. Tetrapacks)
Foil

We do not accept glass, bagged recycling , food and contaminated packaging.

Cardboard only recycling

Customers who produce cardboard only, or who do not have space for a bin, can use the Green Label collection service for larger items or a blue lidded bin. Green labels are pre-paid, and can be used for up to 12 flattened boxes placed in a secure manageable bundle at the kerbside.

Why should your business recycle cardboard?

Many businesses find cardboard a bulky material that makes up a large proportion of the waste that they produce.

Recycling your cardboard:

Does not incur landfill tax so can save your business money
Saves resources: recycling 1 tonne of cardboard can save up to 17 trees
Reduces the need for landfill

What types of cardboard can be recycled?

You can recycle all types of flat and corrugated cardboard including cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes and cereal/food packaging boxes. Please do not recycle cardboard which is contaminated with food and please remove plastic packaging.

Recycling options for business cardboard Cardboard can be collected in the following ways to suit your business:

You can purchase green labels in a pack of 50 and each label can be used for up to 10 flattened boxes placed in a secure manageable bundle at the kerbside
Alternatively, your flattened cardboard can be collected in a range of different sized lockable containers

Accepted in the blue lidded bin

Paper

Paper- Clean and dry
Newspapers
Magazines, catalogues and directories
Junk mail
Letter and envelopes (including windows)
Office and shredded paper
Paperback books - or these can be donated to a charity shop
Glitter-free, non-metallic wrapping paper

Cardboard

Large and small cardboard boxes - e.g. detergent boxes, cereal boxes and packaging
Brown corrugated packaging
Toilet and kitchen roll tubes
Glitter free greeting cards

How to avoid contamination

Contaminated recycling bins are a big problem across Scotland at the moment. To ensure your bin is emptied and not refused due to contamination, join householders and only recycle paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, plastic containers, cans and cartons.

If your bin has been refused due to contamination, please removed the incorrect items and re-present on your next scheduled collection day. If your bin is too contaminated to correct yourself, please contact the Commercial Waste Team for options for disposal as general waste.

Glass recycling

Many businesses find that glass is one of their heaviest and bulkiest items. Glass is also 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality. The Council is able to offer an integrated package of waste and recycling services, which will ensure your business is fully compliant with the Waste (Scotland) Regulations.

The following items can be recycled in your glass bin:

Wine, beer and cider bottles
Spirit and vermouth bottles
Soft drink and alco-pop bottles
Sauce, oil and vinegar bottles
Coffee, tea, cooking sauce and spice jars

Please remove lids and tops and rinse bottles and jars contaminated with food.

We do not accept crockery, drinking glasses, sheet glass, kitchen glassware (eg Pyrex) or light bulbs.

Collection options

Customers have the option of colour separated or mixed glass collection. Colour separated glass involves dedicated containers for clear, green/blue and brown glass. Mixed glass collection allows the customer to recycle any colour of glass bottle or jar in one container.

Why should your business recycle glass bottles and jars?

Under the Waste (Scotland) Regulations, all businesses in Scotland are required to recycle the glass bottles and jars produced throughout the course of their operations.

By using these services you will also be contributing to a drive for greater resource efficiency in Scotland by diverting waste away from landfill.

For colour segregated collections, there is a flat rate annual charge, regardless of the amount of glass your business produces. Mixed Glass collection charges will vary depending on the number of containers and collections you require.

In addition, Local Authority commercial waste collection services are outside the scope of VAT. Therefore, commercial waste collection services provided by Perth and Kinross Council are not subject to VAT, which is beneficial to many businesses in Perth and Kinross.

Green waste recycling

The Council is able to offer an integrated package of waste and recycling services, which will ensure your business is fully compliant with the regulations.

The following items can be recycled in your green waste bin:

Flowers & plants
Grass cuttings
Hedge trimmings
Leaves
Sawdust & bark
Small twigs
Weeds

We do not accept raw or cooked food waste, large branches or logs, soil, stone, rubble or any other type of waste.

Why should your business recycle green waste?

Green waste can be composted to make a useful end product for use in landscaping and grounds maintenance.

Recycling services can be a more cost effective way of dealing with your waste than residual (non-recyclable) waste, which is sent to landfill. Compared to processing recycled waste, disposing of residual waste is far more costly due to landfill tax, which rises year on year.

By using these services you will also be contributing to a drive for greater resource efficiency in Scotland by diverting waste away from landfill, and preventing the production of harmful greenhouse gases.

Composting green waste:

Does not incur landfill tax so you can save your business money
Prevents the production of methane gases which contribute to climate change
Reduces the need for landfill sites

How can your business recycle green waste?

Green waste is collected from the kerbside in a brown-lidded 360 litre bin. The bin is marked with a ¾ fill marker to prevent over-filling which can cause damage to the bin.

General waste recycling

Commercial collections for general (residual) waste are for waste that cannot easily be reused or recycled. All types of non-recyclable waste, that is not classified as hazardous or special waste, can be disposed of using this service.

What waste can your business dispose of?

Commercial collections for non-recyclable (general) waste are for waste that cannot easily be reused or recycled. All types of non-recyclable waste, that is not classified as hazardous or special waste, can be disposed of using this service.

Waste services for events

Whatever the size or venue, Perth and Kinross Council can provide advice to help you manage the waste generated at your event more effectively.

Our Commercial Waste and Recycling Team will work with you during the early stages of your event planning to assist you in taking the necessary steps to reduce, reuse and recycle more of your events waste. Implementing these important provisions will help your organisation to:

reduce the overall waste disposal costs for your event
create a positive image for your event
provide visitors and delegates with additional facilities
participate in a drive toward improved resource efficiency
save energy and reduce the environmental impact of your event
divert waste away from landfill

A comprehensive practical guide to running a sustainable event has been produced by Resource Efficient Scotland. The free resource contains advice for both organisers and suppliers.

Why choose us to undertake your commercial waste and recycling collections?

We have a long established network from localised depots, with a specialist fleet of vehicles that provide reliable, responsive and cost effective services for every area of Perth & Kinross.
Support and advice will be provided by a dedicated team of Commercial Waste and Recycling Officers to help you to manage your waste in the best possible way.
We are committed to helping businesses recycle more materials more often by providing a fully integrated waste management system.
Our Commercial Waste Team can offer you a free zero waste compliance visit and no obligation quote, with the added benefit of our commercial waste collection services being outside the scope of VAT.

To help your business manage its waste effectively, we have developed Commercial Waste Services to maximise the percentage of the waste your business can recycle.

If these services are of interest to your business or organisation, contact our Commercial Waste and Recycling Team. Alternatively, phone our Customer Service Centre on 01738 476476, or email recycle@pkc.gov.uk.

Why should your business recycle?

Under the Waste (Scotland) Regulations, all businesses in Scotland are required to recycle their paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and containers, cans and glass bottles and jars.

Recycling Services are a more cost effective way of dealing with your waste than residual (non-recyclable) waste, which is sent to landfill. Compared to processing recycled waste, disposing of residual waste is far more costly due to landfill tax, which rises year on year. By using these services you will also be contributing to a drive for greater resource efficiency in Scotland by diverting waste away from landfill.

Last modified on 22 August 2024