South Ayrshire Council has cut waste contamination in four problem areas, all of which were suffering from severe fly tipping, by giving its waste strategy an overhaul with the help of Droitwich bin manufacturer Egbert Taylor.

Up until this spring, the council had relied on four 240L wheeled bins per flat to manage the general waste and dry recycling of four mixed tenure developments in Ayr and Prestwick. 

However, the developments’ infrastructure, including the distance from each property to the bin store, meant that residents were not making correct use of the bins. This resulted in 100 per cent of waste being sent to landfill. In many cases, waste was being fly tipped rather than containerised.

The council invested in new infrastructure, which included new paths being built linking each property’s back door to the newly built bin storage, and a communications campaign targeted at residents. It also replaced the two wheeled bins with easy access to Egbert Taylor’s 1100L containers, each of which included the manufacturer’s T-Lock and Lid in Lid solutions.

The T-Lock prevents residents from opening the main lid and leaving it open, which exposes waste to seagulls and invites people to indiscriminately throw waste into the container. The Lid in Lid – a small aperture built into the main lid – also restricts waste deposits to only the size and waste stream the bin has been allocated to collect.

Over 60 of Taylor’s contamination solutions have now been deployed across developments at Fenwickland Avenue and Woodlands Crescent. A further 60 will be rolled out across Campbell Court in Ayr and Arran Park in Prestwick by the end of the summer.

Councillor Martin Kilbride, Buildings, Housing and Environment Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council said: “This initiative is already making a huge difference, in only three months since rolling out the bins, collection teams have gone from sending 100 per cent of all generated waste to landfill, to minimal contamination. Not only that, but the areas are now clean and free of fly-tipping. The Council has used Taylor bins for over 20 years now, and their solutions are helping to boost recycling across South Ayrshire. We’re delighted with the outcome and would like to thank residents and staff for getting behind the campaign.”

Kevin Docherty, Egbert Taylor’s Area Business Manager for Scotland, added: “Sometimes it’s the small things that make a big difference, and that’s exactly the case with the T-Lock and Lid in Lid. By incorporating these products, South Ayrshire Council has not only been able to nudge residents towards carrying out positive waste and recycling behaviours, but they’ve also made it easier for their collection teams, too. I’m really happy that they’ve seen such good results so soon and I now look forward to seeing how the remaining areas perform, too.”

For more information on South Ayrshire Council visit www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk. For more information on the Lid-in-Lid click here.