What happens to my waste?

Waste that you put in your bin or take to one of our centres will either be sent for reuse, recycling, or for disposal to landfill.

Last updated

14 Dec 2023

Reuse

There are two reuse containers at Lower Polmaise for good quality items that can be reused or repaired. These items are collected by Transition Stirling and sold from their reuse hub in Springkerse Industrial Estate. Transition Stirling is a Stirling-based environmental charity. They repair and upcycle items that can be given a new lease of life.

Check out what items can be accepted by Transition Stirling

Other reuse items

walking aids - collected and refurbished by NHS Forth Valley, and reused by other patients in the Forth Valley area
textiles and books – collected by appointed licensed contractors and prepared for reuse or recycling
bicycles – collected by a charity, repaired and sold to local residents
gas bottles – collected, checked over and reused if fit for purpose, or recycled as scrap metal

Recycling

Paper and cardboard

All green bin material goes to Saica Natur, a waste management and recycling company based in Croy, Scotland, From there the paper and cardboard is sent to a paper mill where it is recycled into various materials such as cardboard, paper and blu roll. Contamination is incinerated which produces energy that is used in Scotland.

Plastics, cans and cartons

Blue bin material is sent to a material recovery facility in Broxburn where it is sorted. Once separated the material is then baled by type and sent to a re-processor to be recycled. Aluminium and steel cans are ground up and melted down to form metal ingots which are sold to the market where they are used to create recycled products. Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays are broken down by plastic type and colour. From there they are shredded and melted down, and turned into pellets. The pellets are then sold on to the market place and turned into recycled plastic products. Any contaminants are sent to a re-processor where it is dried and turned in to Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) and incinerated to produce energy from waste.

Glass bottles and jars

Blue box material is sent to Sibelco's glass recycling facility at Newhouse where it is separated into glass, metal and contamination. The glass is further sorted by colour, after which it is sent to a recovery facility where it is turned back in to glass items such as bottles and jars. Any contamination is sent to an incinerator to be used as fuel in an energy-from-waste plant.

Glass can be endlessly recycled with no loss of quality.

Garden and food waste

Garden and food waste is sent to a composting facility where it is picked for any contamination. It's then shredded to break down the material which is composted using a technique called in-vessel composting. It is then turned into compost and sold to the agricultural market. Stirling Council receives some of the material back to provide to the public as our Castle Compost. Contamination is sent to landfill.

Landfill

Any material that is deposited in a ‘non-recyclable waste’ skip or grey bin is sent to a licensed landfill site in Falkirk. Residents are encouraged to maximise all recycling opportunities when visiting a household recycling centre site.

Contamination

Contamination refers to wrong items that are put in a recycling bin or when recyclable materials are disposed of incorrectly. An example of this is when glass is placed in the paper and cardboard bin or when yoghurt pots are put in the recycling bin without being rinsed out.

How is contamination identified?

Waste collection staff conduct visual checks of recycling bins before emptying them. If your bin has the wrong items in it (contaminated) it will not be emptied. We’ll leave a tag on your bin to notify you that you have put the wrong items in it. Please remove them and put your bin out to be emptied on your next scheduled collection day.

Why is contamination important

If wrong items such as plastic bags are placed in a recycling bin and not identified, they can risk the safety of operatives and result in costly machine repairs. Batteries being placed in paper and cardboard bins pose a significant health and safety hazard as they can cause fires. Contamination can result in a whole load of material being unsuitable for recycling.

If contamination is particularly bad, and impacts the quality of the load, it will become physically and economically impossible to recycle. This can result in waste that could have been put to another use (recycled) being incinerated or sent to landfill.