Recycling collections set to resume at overflowing bottle banks
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Overflowing bottle banks in Caithness are expected to be emptied on Tuesday.
Users turning up at local recycling bins in recent days have found them full to the brim. In some cases, people have chosen to place their glass bottles and jars alongside the row of containers or leave them in carrier bags nearby – contrary to recycling guidelines.
The logjam has been caused by a vehicle breakdown which meant a contractor was unable to visit the county as scheduled at the end of last week.
The problem has been noticeable at bottle banks in Wick, among other places.
A Highland Council spokesperson said the last time glassware was uplifted for recycling was July 20.
"The contractor was due to visit Caithness at the end of last week but a vehicle breakdown prevented this," she explained. "We expect a visit to Caithness on Tuesday, August 1."
If users go to a bottle bank and find it is full up, the advice from Highland Council is to take the items home or to the nearest household waste recycling centre – details of which are on the local authority's website.
Glass is normally collected weekly. It is bulked up in Inverness before going for sorting and crushing at the Sibelco recycling plant at Newhouse, near Motherwell.
