Waste Management and Recycling

Lessons from the Black Box

Householders should place glass bottles and jars into their black box, and leave it at the kerbside of their house to be uplifted by Council staff.

All glass bottles and jars should be rinsed, lids removed and placed in the appropriate bin, and the glass items placed in the black box. There is no need to remove labels from bottles and jars, as they will be burnt off during the recycling process.

What could be simpler?

Well, there seems to be some confusion about the black box, because it only appears outside some homes every month or two. Some people are under the illusion that they are helping the Council by NOT putting the black box out regularly, and that it can only be put out for emptying when it is full. WRONG!

Even if there is only one glass jar in the black box it should be placed outside, as it is vital that the Council receives a constant flow of glass for recycling.

When the black box is full of glass some people can find it very heavy to lift. If any householder finds that they require more space to dispose of glass and bottles then they can buy an extra black box from the Council at a cost of £5 by contacting Council staff on Recycling Helpline on 0845 6012020.

Alternatively excess bottles and jars can be taken to one of South Ayrshire Council's Community Recycling Centres or Recycling Points where it can be disposed of FREE.

All the glass which the Council removes is sorted into different types of glass and then sent for recycling. This recycling saves precious resources, as all the old glass is recycled into new glass items which once broken or unwanted can be recycled again.