We are here to help you recycle correctly in your household bins
We understand that recycling can sometimes be confusing, so we want to make it easier. We are committed to engaging with and educating communities in any way we can, bringing awareness to the need to reduce waste and increase recycling.
Our Recycle Right campaign focuses on reducing the amount of good recycling heading for your general waste bin, as well as working to raise awareness of the contents of your blue and grey-lidded recycling bins.
We currently provide the following recycling services with blue and grey-lidded bins covering 97% of Perth and Kinross's Council area.
In some situations we may not be able to provide certain services in your area. Please use our waste and recycling collection date finder to find out if your property receives a blue bin collection service.
Why do I need to recycle?
Through 2021 to 2023 Perth and Kinross's contamination rate in recycling bins has dropped from 21.08%- (21/22) to 18.76%- (22/23). This is great news and a trend we need to continue!
Contamination is when the wrong items end up in the wrong bin, or when items covered with things like food and liquids mix with good recycling. An example of this is a pizza box covered in grease, mixing with clean and dry cardboard in your blue-lidded bin. This grease disrupts the recycling process at the material recovery facility and therefore may cause your bin to be rejected.
The reduced contamination rate for Perth and Kinross is the result of your hard work, recycling correctly in your bins, thank you for continuing to separate your waste and recycling.
Ensuring you are recycling correctly in your bins helps protect vital services for Perth and Kinross as this helps stop unnecessary fines to Perth and Kinross Council from reprocesses who sort your recycling after it is collected. These fines divert funds for essential public services. The recent split of your blue-lidded bin and addition of a grey-lidded bin, is helping these contamination rates drop even further, for more benefits of your new recycling service visit our Grey bin page. This recent change to your recycling service has also removed 9% of the weight of your general waste bin. This is due to the grey-lidded bin accepting soft plastics and foils which previously often ended up in the general waste.
Could you be recycling more?
Did you know that around 53% of material collected in the green-lidded bin (and sent for disposal), could be recycled in your blue, grey and brown lidded bins?
In 2022/2023 it cost approximately £1.7 million to dispose of materials that could have been recycled, diverting funds from essential public services. Could you recycle more?
You can help us by recycling correctly in your bins, below is a breakdown of our Waste Analysis from May 2022:
- Food waste 28%
- Dry mixed recycling 10%
- Plastic films and foil 9%
- Pet waste and bedding 8%
- Disposable nappies 7%
- Garden waste 6%
- Glass 5%
- Textiles 4%
- Others 23%
Use our Find my nearest recycling centre or point for more information on items you can recycle at Recycling centres and points near you.
For more information on recycling additional materials, visit our Reusing and recycling more pages.
Presenting your bin
Collection day
- Please ensure your bin is out by 7.30am with the lid fully closed.
- Return your bins to your property once emptied
Where can I recycle my Blister Packs?
Blister medicine packs are not on the list of plastic recyclable items that are accepted in the new grey-lidded bins. We apologise for causing confusion by stating in some of our informational materials that they will be accepted.
Any blister packs that have been placed in kerbside recycling bins already will not be considered as a contaminate and bins will still be emptied; however, we ask that going forward you do not include them with your recycled materials at home. These should be placed in the green lidded bin or can be recycled at any Superdrug store, where they are collected by Terracycle for recycling.
FAQ's
Visit our dedicated pages if you have questions specific to your Grey bin or Blue bin.
I've received a red tag on my bin, but I don't know what's wrong with it?
If you have received a red tag on your grey or blue-lidded recycling bin, and you don't know what is wrong with it we are here to help.
Our red tags now contain guidance where you can upload a photo of the contents of your bin if you are unsure what is contaminating it or why it has been rejected.
To allow us to help you sort your bin;
- visit MyPKC and log a general enquiry
- report that you have a red tag
- upload a photo of your contaminated bin with a short description of the issue
- we will then review the image and aim to help you fix your bin
What do I do if my bin is contaminated?
If your blue-lidded bin is tagged as contaminated, remove the incorrect materials and re-present on your next scheduled blue-lidded bin day. Any excess recycling can either be taken to your nearest Recycling Centre, or stored and decanted over the next few collections. If you are struggling to figure out what is wrong with your bin, follow our advice above.
If your bin is heavily contaminated or you are unable to remove the incorrect items, householders can call our Customer Service Centre to arrange a chargeable uplift to empty the bin as waste. This uplift costs £6 and can be arranged by calling 01738 476476. Collections usually take place on the same day as your green bin uplift.
Would you like more information?
If you have any questions about how to utilise your waste and recycling service correctly, please email the Waste Awareness Team: wasteawareness@pkc.gov.uk.
We also offer a downloadable presentation available to anyone who would like further waste education, this presentation can be adapted for use with various age groups, please request this with a short outline of who the presentation will be for, in order for us to adapt appropriately
If you would like one, please request a copy of our comprehensive leaflet outlining your waste and recycling service by contacting wasteawareness@pkc.gov.uk.
If you require translations or an accessible version of our materials, please request this by contacting: wasteawareness@pkc.gov.uk or our Customer Service Centre 01738 476 476.
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