Recycle

Fife Council aims to put no waste into landfill sites by 2020, provided it's financially possible. They have set targets to increase the quantity of waste we recycle in Fife by 3% a year, and reduce the quantity dumped in landfill sites by 3% a year.

Year          Waste recycled     Waste to landfill

2008/09    41%                     59%
2009/10    44%                     56%
2010/11    47%                     53%
2011/12    50%                     50%

Fife Zero Waste Plan

Even though they are aiming to have zero waste to landfill by 2020, it still leaves them with the waste that's already there. Fife Council are currently extracting gas from Fife's two landfill sites near Dunfermline and Cupar, and using it to generate heat and power.

When the plant is fully up and running it will generate enough electricity to power 4,000 homes - electricity that doesn't have to be generated by burning coal, oil or gas.

Recycling your waste materials, means new products can be manufactured from your waste. This reduces the need for landfill, saves our planet's natural resources, saves energy and reduces your impact on the climate.

Recycling in Fife

Fife Council's household waste collection includes recycling.

If you have a three bin service (blue, brown and grey bins) the following applies:

• Blue bins - paper and cardboard
• Brown bins - green garden waste, such as grass clippings and weeds
• Grey bins - anything you can't recycle or reuse

If you have a four bin service (grey, green, brown and blue) then the following applies:

• Grey bins - paper and cardboard
• Green bins - cans and plastics
• Brown bins - food and garden waste
• Blue bins - anything you can't recycle or reuse

If you live in flats in Kirkcaldy East, you may have community recycling bins outside your flat. These are for:

• paper and cardboard
• plastics
• food and drinks cans

Recycling Points - there are over 360 Recycling Points in Fife.  Use the Fife Council postcode search to find your nearest Recycling Point and learn what you can recycle there.

Use the 'find my nearest' search facility on the right of the Fife Council page to locate your nearest Recycling Point.

Recycling Centres - there are 11 Recycling Centres in Fife.  You can use these centres to recycle:

• bulkier or larger items such as couches, furniture and washing machines
• smaller items such as shoes, batteries, hair straighteners
• any items with plugs or batteries such as hairdryers and microwaves

Find out what else can be recycled at the centres

Bulky Uplift - Fife Council provides a service for uplifting bulky household items. For more information click here.

Find out what happens to your waste which is recycled

Any waste that can't be reused or recycled ends up at landfill sites. Remember...this is bad for the environment, which is why you should recycle and reuse as much waste as possible.