Moray among top players for recycling performance
Moray Council sustains its position among the best performing local authorities in Scotland for recycling rates.
Despite dropping one place from its 2019 position of third in the country, to fourth, Moray Council is only 3% below the top scoring council and has reported a recycling rate of 54.9%.
Like the majority of councils in Scotland, recycling rates reduced in Moray, largely attributed to the pandemic. Moray’s rate reduced by 4.1%, however while the amount of waste generated by residents increased nationally, in Moray it bucked the national trend and residents generated 0.43 tonnes per person in 2020 compared to 0.49 tonnes in 2019.
Kerbside collections were suspended for three weeks, then reinstated on a lesser frequency, while Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) were closed for 10 weeks, followed by restrictions on what was accepted and a temporary booking system.
Moray Council Waste Manager, Mike Neary, said: “It’s unfortunate we slipped from third to fourth position in Scotland but I sincerely believe we would have dropped even further if it hadn’t been for the enormous effort of our residents and for that I’d like to extend my appreciation to all.
“I must also thank our staff, who worked on the front line through very challenging times to ensure services were maintained. Our drivers, loaders, processing crews, team leaders and office staff have all persevered through unprecedented circumstances to make sure our recycling has been collected, sorted and processed efficiently.
“We’re now in our busiest period for recycling, just before and after Christmas, so thank you in advance to residents for creating as little waste, particularly landfill, as possible and recycling it appropriately.”