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.  

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.

Cleaned during recycling and reused as a grease alternative.

Electrical appliances

Display stream (TVs and monitors) are sent to Valpak and sub-contracted to Restructa.

They are dismantled, and hazardous materials are removed. Recyclable elements are then recycled.

Food waste

Goes to Keenan Recycling in New Deer.

Food waste separated from the bags, the bags are then composted, and the food is liquidised and sent for Anaerobic Digestion, providing combined heat and power with the remaining digestate used as a fertiliser for agriculture.

Food waste is also converted into compost via an In Vessel Composting Plan and 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

Go to Synergy Recycling.

Remaining gases are disposed of and the metal canisters are recycled.

Glass

Goes to Dryden Aqua in Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh.

Used as a replacement product for sand in water filtration units (green and brown glass) or recycled back into glass containers (clear glass).

Household batteries

Household batteries are sent to Restructa.

They 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 containers (plastic bottles, pot, tubs, trays, drinks cartons, cans)

Go to Wyllie Recycling in Perth.

Converted into various new products and materials. Watch the mixed recycling journey video, to find out what happens to your recycling.

Mixed fibre (paper and cardboard)

Goes to Smurfit Kappa in Glasgow.

Recycled into brown paper reels for use in packaging for retail and manufacturing.

Polystyrene

Goes to Styropack (owned by BEWI).

Heat treated and blown back into tiny balls. This recycled material is mixed with new material and then formed into new boxes used for pharmaceuticals, fish, horticulture, agriculture, home delivery and white goods. 

Scrap metal

Goes to Panda Rosa in Aberdeen.

Bulked together during recycling and sent to a foundry in Matlock for reprocessing.

Soil, earth and rubble 

Goes to either Bridgend Sand and Gravel in King Edward 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.

Tyres

Collected by Murfitt Industries.

Recycled by Sapphire Energy Recovery at Dunbar Sapphire, East Lothian.

Vapes / E-cigarettes

Collected by Veolia.

Vapes are accepted in special bins at all of our recycling centres and are then collected by Veolia. They are then manually dismantled and recycled at their partner facility in Portsmouth where they recover around 94% of all materials.

Vehicle (lead acid) batteries

Go to Panda Rosa in Aberdeen.

Sent to a foundry in Matlock for reprocessing.

Wood waste

Goes to SUEZ.

Used as fuel for the RWE Markinch Biomass plant.