Residents encouraged to reuse

18 June 2015

It is even easier to donate unwanted items for reuse thanks to a new service at Aberdeen's biggest Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC).

A 'reuse container' is now available at Grove HWRC in Hazlehead to accept donations of furniture, bikes and sport equipment, which will be passed on to charity, after Aberdeen City Council was awarded £22,475 to support the project from Zero Waste Scotland.

Aberdeen residents can drop off the following items at the reuse container:

Aberdeen City Council's vice-convener of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Councillor Jean Morrison said: "Too many good quality items end up in landfill when they could be re-used. The new container at Grove makes it easy to pass on good quality items for reuse so anyone thinking of updating their furniture or having a clear-out can take their unwanted items along to the recycling centre.

"Reuse is an environmentally-friendly option and increasing reuse will help us to meet our goal of becoming a zero waste city."

This innovative new partnership to develop reuse in Aberdeen will be delivered by Aberdeen City Council in partnership with recycling and resource management company SITA UK, which operates Grove HWRC, and charity Blythswood Care. The charity is a long-standing member of Revolve, Scotland's national reuse quality standard, and will sell either sell the items on in its network of shops or give them away to people in need.

Louise McGregor, Head of Circular Economy, Zero Waste Scotland, said: "Zero Waste Scotland is happy to support Aberdeen City Council to introduce a new re-use container, which will provide more opportunities for people living in Aberdeen to reuse items they no longer need.

"It's essential we increase the amount of goods being re-used in Scotland, for economic and environmental reasons. Over 150,000 tonnes of re-usable goods are still going to landfill in Scotland every year. By re-using more, we can prevent items being landfilled needlessly as well as encouraging sustainable new employment opportunities in local communities."

Colin Forshaw, Operations Manager, SITA UK, said: "Everyone can play a part in protecting resources and we are delighted to be delivering this important reuse scheme, which will help to divert useful items from landfill and put them to good use in the local community."

Ian Matheson, Operations Manager, Blythswood Care, said: "Blythswood Care is delighted to be involved in this project. We believe we can keep over 95% of the goods donated to the reuse container at Grove HWRC from going to landfill. Not only is it helping reduce waste in Aberdeen, it will allow us to support communities throughout the north of Scotland by providing good quality furniture and other goods at a low cost. It will also provide much needed funds to help us feed over 5000 people in crisis across the north of Scotland each year."

Donating items couldn't be simpler – just take them along to Grove HWRC on Hazlehead Avenue, and speak to the staff on site who will direct you to the reuse container. Grove HWRC is open from 10am until 7.45pm Monday to Friday and from 9am until 7.45pm at weekends during the summer months.

For more information about recycling and reuse options in Aberdeen visit www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling