What happens to your recycling
We collect mixed recycling from your kerbside, glass and textiles from recycling points and various materials at our recycling centres.
We have contracts with several reprocessing companies who collect these recyclables and transform them into new products and materials. On this page you can view a list of the companies we work with, as well as the items and materials they produce with their services.
Cardboard
goes to Saica Natur in Dundee or Croy and Alfa Trading and Consultancy in Glasgow
Recycled back into packaging and paper products
Cooking oil
goes to Olleco in Mosstodloch
Once the cooking oil is unpacked, heated, cleaned and filtered, it is then transported to Olleco’s main plant in Liverpool to be converted into biodiesel
Engine oil
goes to Safetykleen in Montrose
during recycling Cleaned and reused as a grease alternative
Electrical appliances
goes to Repic for fridges and freezers, Recycling Lives for domestic appliances, TV's and monitors, and Recolight for fluorescent tubes (lamps)
All appliances are sent to Viridor Collection Services in Perth, where they are dismantled and hazardous materials are removed. Recyclable elements (such as metals and plastics) are sent to the relevant location for recycling. Please refer to the Repic and Recycling lives websites for detailed information on reprocessing.
Food waste
goes to Keenan Recycling in New Deer
Converted into compost, which is used by local agricultural farms
Garden waste
goes to Keenan Recycling in New Deer
Converted into compost, which is used by local agricultural farms
Gas canisters
Aire Valley Gas in Bradford
Remaining gases are disposed of and the metal canisters are recycled
Glass
goes to Dryden Aqua in Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh (green and brown glass) and Berryman/URM Glass Recycling in South Kirkby (clear glass)
Recycled back into glass containers (Berryman) or used as a replacement product for sand in water filtration units (Dryden Aqua)
Household batteries
goes to G and P Batteries in West Midlands
Batteries are sorted before undergoing a recycling process to recover materials from each battery type. These are converted into a variety of products, including more batteries and materials for the steel industry.
Mixed recycling
goes to ENVA (Scotland) at Linwood, Paisley
Converted into various new products and materials
Scrap metal
Panda Rosa in Aberdeen
during recycling Bulked together and sent to a foundry in Matlock for reprocessing
Soil, earth and rubble
goes to Either Bridgend Sand and Gravel in King Edward, A and M Smith in Portlethen or David Smith in Savoch and Smiddyburn (location dependent on its proximity to the recycling centre)
All inert soil and stone are screened and recycled into usable soil, topsoil or aggregate
Textiles
Collected by Salvation Army or Nathan's Wastesavers
Sorted and sent to charity shops for the public to buy and reuse. Textiles unfit for reuse are converted into cloths or rags for garages or used in soundproofing or mattress fillings.
Vehicle (lead acid) batteries
goes to Panda Rosa in Aberdeen
Sent to a foundry in Matlock for reprocessing
Wood waste
goes to Keenan Recycling Limited in New Deer (north and central Aberdeenshire), SUEZ (south Aberdeenshire)
Some sold as wood chippings and some used in the composting process of food and garden waste (Keenan). Used as fuel for the RWE Markinch Biomass plant (Suez).