The local authority believes that success is down to the commitment shown by residents who have supported the council’s unique waste and recycling collection service.

The collective effort to accomplish this achievement must be acknowledged because it hasn’t always been easy to make the shift from a waste culture to a resource recovery future.

Councillor Vincent Waters, convenor for environment, said: “It is a balancing act to implement a collection service that is simple and convenient for residents but also delivers quality materials for recycling. Some residents have asked us why they can’t put paper, plastics, glass and cans for recycling into a single bin, like some neighbouring authorities do. But our driving principle to segregate and maintain the value of materials has served us well and will continue to do so as the industry increasingly focuses on quality, not just quantity.” East Renfrewshire Council supports Scotland’s vision to move away from a culture where we take, make and dispose to one where we keep resources in use for as long as possible.

Councillor Waters added: “There is no point in collecting materials that are heavily contaminated or require a costly sorting process to make them marketable. It may be more straightforward to chuck everything into one bin but asking residents to separate their paper, plastics, glass and cans, has ensured recovery of high quality materials which are then sold to offset the cost of operating the service. We believe that this not only offers best value to our residents but it is what’s best for the environment.” Whilst the council admits that the receptacles used for collections are not ideal in windy weather, the current collection system has successfully provided high quality materials for recycling over the years and they urge residents to continue to help East Renfrewshire Council to recycle more materials more often.

Summing up Councillor Waters said: “It is hoped that when residents can see the value of what they are putting out and know how and when to do it, recycling performance will continue to rise. The next target is to reach 70 per cent recycling by 2025.”