Look out for the new re-cycling regime

The money will also enable the purchase of a new electric bin lorry.

A major shake-up will take place in the system of bin collection in Lewis and Harris in a bid to greater increase the practice of re-cycling in island households.

It comes after Comhairle nan Eilean Siar was given funding support of £855,000 from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund, with the new regime getting underway this month.

Households who currently do not have a green and blue recycling bin should look out for new ones being delivered over the coming weeks.

All services will move to a three weekly collection frequency, in line with the Scottish Government Household Recycling Charter.

The new waste and recycling collection service will be as follows: Non – Recyclable Waste (black bin with purple label); every 3 weeks – Food & Garden Waste (black bin with yellow label), every 3 weeks; Mixed Recycling (blue bin); every 3 weeks – Glass Recycling (green bin); every 8 weeks.

A comhairle spokesman said: “Although we all try to minimise the amount of food that is wasted, there are often leftovers and unavoidable food waste from preparing and enjoying meals.

"The separate collection of food waste for processing can make a huge difference to the impact of waste on Climate Change by reducing carbon emissions. Fortunately, all food and garden waste collected from Lewis & Harris households is treated locally, at the Creed Park Anaerobic Digester, and used to generate electricity and hydrogen.

“To make it even easier for householders to divert their food waste from landfill, as part of the roll out of the new services, the Comhairle’s Zero Waste Team will also be delivering new vented kitchen caddies and biodegradable liners to all householders in Lewis and Harris. Vented caddies help moisture to evaporate and minimise food waste odours.”

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive at Zero Waste Scotland said: “The Recycling Improvement Fund has already seen Scottish Government funding allocated to transformational and innovative projects up and down Scotland and Zero Waste Scotland is thrilled to welcome Lewis and Harris to the list.”