{"id":678576,"date":"2026-07-07T13:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T13:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/678576\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T13:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T13:39:09","slug":"push-back-from-councils-over-flexible-plastic-recycling-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/678576\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Push back\u2019 from councils over flexible plastic recycling plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

SHETLAND Islands Council (SIC) is \u201ccertainly not lying down\u201d to the Scottish Government over an unpopular proposed change to its recycling collection.<\/p>\n

The Scottish Government wants all Scottish local authorities to begin collecting flexible plastics, which can include clingfilm, crisp packets and sweetie wrappers, from homes over the coming years.<\/p>\n

Currently these are dropped at collection points across Scotland, with the Tesco supermarket in Lerwick having a drop-off point.<\/p>\n

SIC waste operations manager Brydon Gray said there had been a \u201cfair bit of push back\u201d from councils to plans for them to collect flexible plastics instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey cost an absolute fortune to collect,\u201d he told Monday night\u2019s meeting of Lerwick Community Council (LCC)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Scottish Government is pushing us towards collecting this material, but the cost is excessive.\u201d<\/p>\n

An example of some flexible plastics which can be recycled. Photo: Nestle<\/p>\n

He said it would cost a lot of extra money not only to collect, but to ship south as well.<\/p>\n

Community councillor Duncan Swainston said this seemed like the Scottish Government \u201cmaking a decision for the central belt\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a complete lack of flexibility,\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem to work for Shetland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray responded that the SIC had been \u201carguing for months that it doesn\u2019t really work\u201d up here, and added that they were \u201ccertainly not lying down\u201d to the government\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n

Other items that can be recycled as soft plastics include bread bags, plastic cereal bags and pet food pouches.<\/p>\n

Gray was attending Monday night\u2019s LCC meeting to give a presentation about the SIC\u2019s waste operations work, and to answer any questions that members had.<\/p>\n

Shetland could soon be taking part in an AI pilot scheme to identify which areas had worse levels of contaminated recycling, he said.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gray told the meeting that the SIC had applied to be part of the pilot project, which would use a camera on the back of an essy kert to map out contamination levels and locations throughout Shetland.<\/p>\n

He said in his presentation that this was being introduced in other countries, and would help the SIC target interventions for people to direct the right recycling to the right bins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope we get picked for it,\u201d Gray added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can identify what areas might have more contamination and see what we can do to combat that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the scheme was \u201cnot cheap to run\u201d, so would be ideal for the SIC if was were selected for the pilot.<\/p>\n

Gray also said the SIC was providing less communal bins throughout Shetland, and had been swapping some in certain areas for smaller bins.<\/p>\n

This was because some people \u201cjust chuck everything in\u201d and leave a mess for other residents, he explained.<\/p>\n

Asked later if there was much fly tipping in Shetland, Gray said the SIC had nowhere near the level of issues that other councils in Scotland do.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur problems are minimal compared with other local authorities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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