Survey findings have shown the majority of locals make good use of recycling facilities and want to see them extended, according to Perth and Kinross Council.
The findings came from an online survey on waste and recycling organised by the council in a bid to gather views on the services available. It also sought to pin down the reasons for not recycling.
The majority of respondents indicated they use both their blue and brown lidded bins, and over 90% of people on the kerbside recycling service are aware of most of the materials they could put in their blue bin.
However, it was clear that for two of the newly introduced materials aerosol cans and plastic packaging other than bottles many were not aware they can be put in the blue-lidded bin.
Two thirds of respondents use their brown-lidded bin for both food and garden waste. While this was a positive figure, a third of those who replied were not recycling their food waste, which means it is still being disposed of to landfill.
The eight council recycling centres and numerous recycling points around Perth and Kinross continued to be popular with residents, and many respondents were taking the opportunity to cut their general waste levels through measures such as reducing food waste, swapping plastic carrier bags for reusable alternatives, paperless billing and donating clothes to charity.
Residents who responded also had the opportunity to give any other comments on the provision of waste and recycling services.
Just under a third wanted more glass recycling facilities closer to their home, and around 10% asked for tetrapak packaging to be included in the blue-lidded bin collection.
One in six of those who responded also specifically commented that they were happy with both the kerbside and other recycling facilities provided by the council.
Environment convener Alan Grant said: “The feedback from this survey shows that in general, our residents are finding the services we provide to reduce, reuse and recycle waste helpful, and this is reflected in our recycling rate of 46.7% for 2010/11.
“We are looking to build on that support and recycle still more waste locally to keep meeting future targets.
“Among the actions we are planning are developing a new recycling centre in north Perth, looking at smaller local glass-only recycling points around the area and investigating opportunities for recycling in town centres.
“It is also clear from the survey results that we need to keep promoting the services available to householders and we will use all appropriate channels to do this, as well as supporting national projects like Love Food Hate Waste at a local level. We all need to embrace change in how we dispose of our waste to ensure we can live sustainably and responsibly and I hope residents will make the best possible use of the facilities we have in Perth and Kinross.”
The high recycling rate across Perth and Kinross was recently given national prominence when it was highlighted in the BBC One television show, Town.
Presenter Nicholas Crane rode in a bin lorry and visited the recyclate sorting site to see the difficulties which must be overcome in retaining one of Scotland’s highest rates.