Everything we buy and use has an impact on the environment. It all must come from somewhere, and that uses energy, water and sometimes scarce materials. It can also create pollution in the environment, and use land which could be used for something else or left to nature.
In Edinburgh we deal with more than 200,000 tonnes of household waste every year, which has a big impact on the environment. Our Waste Management strategy explains how we’re helping you change that.
It’s best to avoid producing waste to start with by reducing and reusing it. We offer a wide range of recycling services to make recycling easy.
Our recycling services help to reduce the energy and materials needed to make new things and take pressure off the planet. Sometimes they have other benefits. The gas made from our food waste collections is used to make electricity and has created local jobs at the Millerhill processing site.
Our recycling services can collect 70% of a typical household’s waste. More than half of a household’s non-recyclable waste bin could have gone in one of our recycling collections so there’s more we can all do to help.
Only waste which can’t be recycled should go in your non-recyclable waste bin. We use that to make electricity for the national grid. We now landfill less than 5% of your waste.
Find out more about what happens to our waste and recycling and where it goes.