Five steps to slimming your green-lidded bin

The key to understanding your waste is know exactly what you are putting in to your bins. View our 10 top tips leaflet (PDF) [1MB] .

The following questions may be worth thinking about to check that your household is fully utilising available recycling services:

What have you put into your green-lidded bin this past week?

Have a look in your kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms bins before emptying them into your green-lidded bin. You may find items which could be recycled in your blue-lidded or brown-lidded recycling bins.

A bin in your bathroom could contain such items as: toilet roll tubes, shampoo and conditioner bottles, shower gel bottles, bleach or cleaning bottles, or empty shaving foam cans - all these items can be recycled in your blue-lidded bin. Check your kitchen bin too for any food waste such as, unopened or out-of-date food, which could have been recycled in your brown-lidded bin.

Are there other items which have slipped the recycling net? Glass bottles and jars; old clothing and linen; and, any foil packaging such as washed takeaway containers, can all be recycled at your local Recycling Centre or Point?

There may not seem to be much at first, but all the smaller items add up. Encouraging everyone in your household to recycle can help free up space in your green-lidded bin for non-recyclable items such as, dog mess or nappies.

Is your household familiar with the materials that can be recycled in your blue-lidded bin?

In addition to paper, cardboard. rigid plastic containers, and tins and cans, your household can now also recycle food & drinks cartons in your blue-lidded bin. This includes cartons marked as Tetra Pak® and Pure-Pak®. Examples of these could be such items as: juice cartons, milk cartons, passata cartons, fresh soups cartons and juice boxes. A more extensive list of the materials accepted in the blue-lidded bin can be found in your new recycling guide (PDF) [1MB] . 

If you need further clarification on which materials you can recycle in your recycling bins please phone the Council's Customer Service Centre on 01738 476476.

Are your kerbside recycling bins big enough?

If you find you are putting recyclable materials into your green-lidded general waste bin because you have no space in your blue-lidded or brown-lidded recycling bins, you are invited to order another recycling bin (up to a maximum of two of each).

As more items can be recycled in your blue-lidded bin, you may find that you need additional recycling capacity. Some households may still have the smaller blue-lidded recycling bins, and are invited to upgrade to a larger or second blue-lidded recycling bin. Remember too that all cooked and uncooked food waste can be recycled in your brown-lidded bin at no additional charge. If you have garden waste, you can either purchase a garden waste permit for kerbside uplift of the brown-lidded bin, take garden waste to your nearest Recycling Centre or if suitable, try composting at home. Householders in eligible areas are entitled to two brown bins per property.

If your household already has two blue and/or brown-lidded bins, additional waste and recycling materials can be taken to your local Recycling Centre or Point.

Do you know where your nearest recycling centre or point is?

There are over 100 Recycling Points and 9 Recycling Centres located across Perth and Kinross where householders can recycle a variety of additional or excess materials. Search to find your nearest recycling centre or point along with details of which materials can be easily recycled there.

For many householders the most convenient recycling centre or point is located within the car park of their local supermarket or shop. It can be easier to recycle such items as glass bottles and jars and textiles in the same journey you are making to purchase your household groceries.

As part of the new service we are also identifying additional local glass recycling points to make recycling even more convenient. If you have a suggestion for where glass recycling point can be located please contact the Council's Customer Service Centre on 01738 476476, or by emailing recycle@pkc.gov.uk.

Are there areas within the household that you can reduce the amount of waste created?

There are some straight forward waste minimisation tips that might be worth considering when it comes to the goods that we purchase and the amount of non-recyclable waste that can come from them:

• Avoid overly packaged goods (i.e., purchasing fresh produce loose where possible; avoid individually wrapped sweets)
• Is your household creating avoidable food waste (i.e., letting food go out of date, buying more than you need, or throwing out leftovers)? Visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
• It can help to familiarise yourself with the differences between use-by, sell-by, and best before dates.  Get to grips with date labels by visiting www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
• Is everyone in your household familiar with what can and cannot be recycled?

My household has done all of the above, but we still can't manage?

Do you qualify for additional bin capacity?

Under certain circumstances, some households will meet the criteria for a second slim-line green-lidded general waste bin under the Council's Waste and Recycling Bin Policy. You can apply for a second general waste bin if:

• A member of your household suffers from a medical condition which produces additional non-recyclable waste
• You have two or more children aged 3 or under in nappies, who are permanent residents in your household
• You have five or more permanent residents living in your household

If you are fully utilising the New Household Waste and Recycling Service, and meet any of the criteria listed above, you can apply for a second bin, or contact the Customer Service Centre on 01738 476476. Householders will be required to show evidence of meeting the criteria before a second general waste bin is approved.

If you do not qualify, how should you manage excess waste?

If you still have excess waste, then you will need to prioritise what should be collected, and what can be safely stored.

To do this, you may wish to put any odorous wastes such as nappies, sanitary products, food contaminated packaging or animal waste in your green bin. Items such as plastic film, polythene wrap, foil-line packaging, vacuum dust, etc can be bagged and stored. As these are dry and do not contain food or other odorous wastes, therefore it is very unlikely they will attract pests such as mice, rats or seagulls.

The bag of dry wastes can then be disposed of at your local Recycling Centre.