Two weekly bin collections from Monday 6 April

During the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic, the council will introduce a simplified, two-weekly bin collection where recycling and general waste will be collected at the same time.

Please put out up to two bins on the day that you would normally put out your recycling (blue bin/bag). You can look up your collection date on the website.This applies to all areas; but if you live in Kintyre or on Bute, please find your arrangements in the tables at the end of this article.

This gives each household more collections.

However, the consequence is that, for the time being, recyclable materials will go into the general waste stream. This allows us to organise a schedule that will protect our staff and meet guidance on social distancing.

This approach is being taken by a number of local authorities across Scotland during this pandemic.

Robin Currie, Policy Lead for Housing, Roads and Infrastructure Services, said: “We’ve listened to public concerns and the whole council is working tirelessly to help protect our communities from the threat of coronavirus.

“Our frontline workers are going to extraordinary lengths to deliver services by changing the way we work to make best use of the resources we have.

“This model is deliverable, although this may in time need staff to be utilised from wider teams, such as roads and grounds staff. This means we will only be making emergency road repairs in very serious situations.

“Please be assured, Argyll and Bute Council takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and you can help. If you have the option to store recycling until we can resume this service, we would be grateful. Here are some tips for storing it safely:

Make sure you wash out plastic bottles (especially milk bottles) and trays thoroughly;

• Squash plastic bottles and then put the lid back on;

• Stack trays the same size inside each other to save space;

• Flatten cardboard boxes and paper;

• If you can, crush your cans;

• Rinse and flatten Tetrapaks (juice cartons etc);

• Once your bin is full, please start storing the recycling in plastic bags, or inside large cardboard boxes, in a dry place.

“Buying and preparing only what you need can help cut down the amount of food thrown away. Every household in Scotland could save £460 each year by throwing out less - worth thinking about at the moment when getting to the shops is more difficult. See http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ for information on how you can cut down food waste.”

For more information, there are answers to some questions you may have on www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/coronavirus/bins

Arrangements for Bute and Kintyre

Current routes in Bute and Kintyre are designed for different vehicles and staffing levels. To make fortnightly collections possible we have to design new routes.

These are the arrangements we have in place for Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 April. These will be updated as soon as possible so please look out for information on the council website, social media or register with our Keep in the Loop service: http://bit.ly/KeepITLoop

Arrangements for Bute

 Arrangements for Kintyre

ENDS