Inverclyde Recycling Guide

Having confidence your materials are actually recycled is a challenge - see our guide below. All info is relevant to Inverclyde Council, please check with your own Council if necessary.

Glass

At Council recycling points – use button below to see a map.

Glass is great - it can recycled indefinitely so is a much better choice than plastic bottles.

Metal cans/containers

Rinsed metal food/drink cans, and empty aerosol cans go in the the Council's blue bin/bag or in the dry recycling bins at the Council’s Recycling Centres and Neighbourhood Recycling Points - used the button below to see a map.

Aluminium is infinitely recyclable and saves up to 95% of the energy needed for new production.

Recycling steel saves 60–74% compared to using virgin materials.

Paper

Paper and cardboard (including food and drink cartons) can go in the Council's blue bin/bag or in the dry recycling bins at the Council's Recycling Centres and Neighbourhood Recycling Points – use button below to see a map.

Most shop receipts should not be recycled. This is because they are made of thermal paper. These should be put in a general waste bin.

Paper smaller than A4 is ideally collected in a box or paper bag rather than loose.

Books

DONATING

Ardgowan Hospice Wee Bookshop in Gourock or the Wemyss Bay Station bookshop will take good quality books in small quantities. Alternatively leave books on the swap shelves in Tesco.

BUYING

Better World Books have a centre in Dunfermline and take sustainability very seriously. A good option if you buy books online.

Garden Waste

Garden Waste should be put in your brown bin (a paid permit is required) or recycled at a Recycling Centre in the 'Garden Waste' skip. 

Garden waste includes:

• grass cuttings
• weeds
• shrub cuttings
• hedge trimmings
• flowers and plants
• leaves & twigs.

These items cannot go in your brown bin/be put in a garden waste skip:

• soil
• cellophane wrappers, cling film, plastic bags
• vegetable peelings, tea bags, food scraps (due to risk of compost becoming infected with e.g. salmonella, picked up from kitchen surfaces).
• garden tools/equipment/furniture
• rubble (please note that a car-boot load of rubble can be deposited free of charge, any amount greater than this will incur a charge). 

Food Waste

The following should be put in your green food waste bin:

• dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt
• eggs, raw and cooked, including shells
• fish, raw and cooked, including bones
• fruit and vegetables, including peelings
• meat, raw and cooked, including bones
• bread, cakes and pastries
• rice, pasta and beans
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• out-of-date food still in its packaging (no glass, cans or bottles).

Anything else should be put in your black bin.

Food waste in Scotland contributes to over 6% of our carbon footprint. Much of the waste is edible. Save money and reduce your contribution to climate change by reducing food waste. See hints from Inverclyde Community Food Network using the button below.

Plastic Facts

Used plastic in the UK is discarded in the following ways:

• Exported - 14%
• Incinerated – 58%
• Landfilled - 11%
• Recycled - 17%

British homes throw away an estimated 1.7 billion pieces of plastic packaging every week - less than a fifth is recycled in the UK.

Recycling will never be able to catch up with the volume of plastics being produced so if you can avoid plastic, please do so by choosing glass bottles/loose fruit and veg, using refills and using your own bags.

How/where you recycle plastic depends on what kind it is:

• Food/Cosmetic/Household Containers
• Hard Plastic
  
• Soft Plastic
  
• Make-up Packaging
• Medical Blister Packs

See the following guides for each plastic type.

Plastic Containers (Food/Cosmetic/Household)

These are lightweight containers and bottles - they should be rinsed before recycling. For example:

• containers/bottles for hair/body wash, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner
• food trays/cartons
• drinks bottles/cartons
• cleaning product bottles.

These plastics should be put in your blue bin or recycled at a Recycling Centre/Location in the 'Dry Recyclates' bin.

For bags and crinkly plastic see 'Soft Plastics' section.

Soft Plastics

Soft Plastics are lightweight and crinkly - they can be scrunched in your hand. They include bags, wrappers or film made from plastic/polythene/cellophane. For example:

• crisp packets
• bread bags
• single-use carrier bags
• bags-for-life
• lids from ready meals/yogurt pots
• biscuit wrappers
• pet-food pouches.

You cannot recycle soft plastic in your Inverclyde Council blue bin. Many shops/supermarkets provide collection bins for soft plastics.

The COOP ensures that soft plastics will be recycled in the UK by using an in-house closed-loop system.

The recyclable material is turned into plastic granules which are then made into other items, such as bin liners, buckets and materials for the construction industry. This prevents the plastics flooding land-fill sites, going to incineration or being shipped overseas.

Hard Plastics

Hard plastic items are thick, rigid, and inflexible which hold their shape and do not easily bend or fold. For example:

• buckets and bins
• car bumpers
• gutter/utility pipes
• large plastic toys
• plastic coat hangers
• plastic garden furniture
• black plastic plant pots
• storage containers
• traffic cones.

These plastics should not be put in your blue bin - these should be recycled at a Recycling Centre in the 'Hard Plastic' skip.

Make-up Packaging

For example:

• foundation bottles
• concealer tubes
• powders and blushers
• mascaras and mascara wands
• travel minis
• toothpaste tubes
• eyeliner
• eyeshadow palettes
• lipsticks, glosses, and balms
• caps, pumps and sprays

These plastics should not be put in your blue bin - these should be recycled at shops such as Boots, Superdrug, Tesco.

Medical Blister Packs

These are difficult to recycle as contain PVC so not accepted in blue bins. Packs must be empty and removed from their cardboard box/packaging.

Superdrug locations which have a pharmacy have bins in store.

Boots have bins in store but require use of their app.

CDs, DVDs and Vinyl Records

These cannot be recycled so try selling online or donating to a charity.

If CDs are broken they can be sent to Recycladisk - see button below.

Shoes

These are tricky to recycle due to the different materials used.

If the shoes are in good condition, you can hand them in to a charity shop or Schuh. Shoes that have been damaged, torn or ripped beyond repair/use cannot be donated.

Schuh will accept any type of shoes/make/brand for recycling whether  or not they were purchased in Schuh. All shoes handed in for recycling head to the Got Sneakers Liverpool depot, where they go through an intensive sorting and cleaning process. This means they are less likely to be sent to the Global South.

Textiles

Polyester is the most widely used fabric but it can take up to 200 years to fully decompose. Producing just one kilogram of cotton can require between 10,000 and 20,000 litres of water.

Extending the life of existing textiles is crucial - donate, recycle or re-purpose. For more info on fast fashion, download our Fast Fashion PDF.

Donate to a local charity shop if still in good condition otherwise take to a textile bank at a Council Recycling Centre, Charity Shop or school.

Schools can apply for a textile recycling bin/skip or organise a collection day through companies such as collection4clothes or recycle4school.

Nathan’s Wastesavers prevent textiles going to landfill by working with Councils and Charities.

Blue Bins/Bags
(Inverclyde Council)

The following materials can be recycled in your blue bin or bag:

• paper
• cardboard (including food and drinks cartons)
• metal food/drink cans
• empty aerosol cans
• plastic bottles
• plastic food containers.

Please do not place the following items in your blue bin or bag:

• soft plastics (plastic/polythene/cellophane bags, wrappers or film)
• polystyrene
• hard plastics
• textiles or shoes
• glass
• household waste
• food waste
• garden waste.

More Info

Zero Waste Scotland

Scotland’s circular economy public body, working to change the economy from the current 'take, make, waste' model to one where we make the most of the materials we need.

Moral Fibres 

Lots of hints and tips on sustainability of different brands.



Fundraising through recycling

Schools can apply for a textile recycling bin/skip or organise a collection day (clothes, toys and bric-a-brac) through companies such as collection4clothes or recycle4school.

Shopping Trollies

The Trolleywise App is a free mobile tool for iOS and Android used to report abandoned shopping trolleys across the UK.

It captures a photo and the GPS location of a stray trolley, alerting local retrieval teams funded by major supermarkets to collect and return the asset

How the App Works

1 - Snap and Send:

Take a photo of the dumped trolley inside the app.

2 - Auto-Geolocation:

The app records the exact GPS location.

3 - Collection:

Alerted local collection teams retrieve the trolley, typically by the next working day.