RESIDENTS across North Ayrshire are being reminded to put the right stuff in the right bin, following recent changes to bin collections.

On April 1, all households on the mainland and Cumbrae switched to a new waste collection service with the introduction of the purple bin along with changes to the items that can be recycled in the blue bin.

Both of these bins, along with the grey general waste bin, are now collected on a three-weekly cycle. Most household’s will also have a new collection day as part of the changes.

The new service was brought in to help reduce the amount of recyclable items which unnecessarily end up in landfill.

The aim of the purple bin is to provide residents with more recycling capacity so that they can divert some of the 71 per cent of recyclable items from their grey bin.

The purple bin should be used for loose plastics, cartons, metals and glass. All of these items should be empty, rinsed and squashed (where possible). including:

· PLASTICS: plastic drink, toiletry, cleaning and medicine bottles; milk cartons; plastic tubs, trays and pots; fruit and vegetable punnets; lids and tops; plastic egg boxes.

· CARTONS: juice and soup cartons.

· METALS: food and drinks tins/cans; empty aerosols; foil trays; aluminium foil; chocolate and biscuit tins; metal lids.

· GLASS: glass bottles and jars.

This allows the blue bin to be used for loose paper, card and cardboard only – all of which should be clean and dry - such as:

· CARD: cardboard and cereal boxes; toilet and kitchen roll tubes; corrugated cardboard; catalogues; junk mail and brochures.

· PAPER: paperback books; paper and shredded paper; wrapping paper (no glitter, foil decoration, sticky tape or bow/ribbons); envelopes; cardboard egg boxes.

The brown bin continues to be used for food and garden waste including grass cuttings, weeds, hedges and branches, egg shells, tea bags, cooked and uncooked food and fish and meat bones.

The brown bin remains on a fortnightly collection – on the same collection day it was prior to the introduction of the purple bin.

The grey bin should be used for all other items which cannot be recycled including plastic bags, crisp and sweet papers, used tissues, paper towels and wipes, nappies, tinfoil, lightbulbs, pet litter/animal bedding, hard plastics (toys, coat hangers, CD cases), padded envelopes and polystyrene.

Russell McCutcheon, Head of Commercial Services, said: “With new changes to our household waste collection service, we wanted to give our residents a handy reminder of the items that should go into each of the bins.

“By recycling more of their waste, our residents can help drive down the amount of items that end up in landfill.

“And to do that, all that’s required is ensuring the right stuff goes into the right bin.”

“By doing so, they can help us protect and enhance the environment for future generations.”

For more information, check out the council’s Right Stuff, Right Bin guidance online.

You can also find out your bin collection arrangements as well as import your bin days straight into your smartphone’s calendar – ensuring you never miss bin day again.