Campbeltown Recycling

Kerbside Collection and Bring Banks

In 2002, the kerbside recycling scheme which began in Campbeltown was extended throughout Kintyre, taking in about 4,500 households. Collections are made fortnightly by Kintyre Recycling Ltd., under contract to Argyll & Bute Council. The steel and aluminium cans, plastic bottles, textiles, paper and cardboard collected and diverted from landfill all make significant contributions to the area's waste plan.

In addition, Kintyre Recycling Ltd. services over 30 collection points, known as Bring Banks, across Kintyre and Mid-Argyll. The list is available here. As a registered charity, the company is featured on the Big Give web site.

In parallel with its waste reduction role, Kintyre Recycling Ltd. is a Social Enterprise firm, employing folk with Special Needs on tasks which include sorting and rag-wipe production. The enthusiasm generated by recycling in Campbeltown is well illustrated in Kintyre Recycling's Bebo site. As the tagline says: Reduce - Reuse - Recycle!

The Springbank Recycling Project

Run by Campbeltown's Springbank Evangelical Church, this furniture project provides a valuable resource for the people of South Kintyre. It has several benefits:

• folk can pass on, rather than throw away, their disused furniture
• people in need can easily obtain items to furnish their home
• it retains the value put into furniture by manufacturers and craftsmen
• it is a great means of practical outreach from the church into the community

The project collects, stores, repairs and distributes furniture which is passed on to them, using their dedicated and reliable team of volunteers. Although sometimes donations are made towards running costs, most of the funding derives from their Sunday congregation, sufficient to buy their project store in Well Close, Campbeltown.

Freecycle Kintyre^TM

The grassroots and entirely non-profit Freecycle Kintyre is part of the global Freecycle Network^TM, a movement of people recycling items for free in their own areas, thereby keeping useful articles out of landfills. To benefit from, or contribute to, the service, individuals and other non-profit groups join the Freecycle Kintyre Yahoo! Group. Membership is free.

Everything posted must be unconditionally free, legal and appropriate for all ages. Only members can view the items being given away or sought. Furniture, doors, tools, white goods, musical instruments and computers all find their way onto the list. The group can be contacted by E-mail at freecyclekintyre-owner@yahoogroups.com .

Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Since the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive came into force in January 2007, cost-effective recycling of redundant and defunct equipment in this category, which includes computers, became much more challenging. The EU Directive aims to reduce the amount of waste produced and simultaneously encourage everyone to reuse, recycle and recover. Its effect has been to force small local firms out of the sector altogether, as the operation of the resultant collection schemes tends to lead to regional or national contracts. The relatively low volumes and long road journeys involved make operations from a base in Campbeltown uneconomic.

In the UK, implementation of the WEEE Directive led to the establishment of the Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS) and the Designated Collection Facility (DCF). Household users having waste electrical and electronic equipment should dispose of it using one of these schemes.

Take-back Scheme

Distributors directly supplying new electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) to private households must offer, free of charge, to take back all old EEE of equivalent type.

Collection Facility

The Roading Civic Amenity Site 13 The Roading, Campbeltown, PA28 6LU will take household waste electrical and electronic equipment.

For commercial EEE disposal, one option is to contact Grangemouth Enterprises Ltd., a recycling company who collect loads from Argyll.

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