Approximately 41,000 wheeled bins, each with a 140 litre capacity, will be delivered to households in the weeks leading up to Christmas. It follows a recent review of glass recycling that will lead to improvements in the collection service for residents and result in annual savings to the Council of around £300,000.
The first wheeled bins, coloured black with a purple lid, will be delivered to Cowie and all residents in the Stirling area will also receive a letter in the coming days outlining details of the new changes and key dates for collection.
Collection frequencies for glass recycling will remain unchanged until 5 January 2026. After this date, the collection frequency will move to every eight weeks.
The letter to residents will also detail the first two new collection dates after 5 January and, from March, residents can check subsequent collection dates by downloading the waste calendar at www.stirling.gov.uk/postcodefinder.
Collection
Residents are asked to put their old 55 litre glass collection boxes out beside their new bins on their next scheduled collection date. These will be taken away for recycling. However, residents can also choose to retain the boxes for their own purposes, although the waste services team will no longer uplift boxes presented with glass.
Residents are reminded the new bins belong to the property and must be retained and used for glass collection.
Residents who receive an assisted collection, or those who use communal bins at flatted developments, will have their bins removed and returned by the waste services team on collection days.
The cost of the glass collection bins, £845,000, has been met by the UK Government’s Extended Producer Responsibility funding scheme.
Recycling
Convener of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee, Cllr Jen Preston, said: “The new wheeled bins take up the same footprint as the existing boxes and the 140-litre volume provides an additional 17 per cent capacity for residents to recycle glass.
“The bins will make it easier for the public to present their glass for recycling, removing the need for boxes to be lifted and carried to the kerbside. This will also benefit our waste services team through reduced manual handling and avoiding tipping boxes into the vehicles, which can be a risk to health and safety.
“We thank residents for their help in implementing the new system and they will also continue to benefit from the availability of our 26 glass recycling sites across the Stirling area.”
The decision to review glass recycling collection was taken following a benchmarking exercise against other Scottish local authorities and a consideration of the various options available for glass recycling. It also supports the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, which encourages sustainability, re-use and recycling and fosters the promotion a circular economy.
Further information about the changes, including an FAQ, is available at www.stirling.gov.uk/glasscollections.