New figures show that Scotland’s household recycling efforts save local authorities more than £20 million each year.

The revelation on how much councils save through recycling comes as Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead launches the latest recycling campaign from the Scottish Government, encouraging the public to recycle more and more often.

Mr Lochhead said: "It’s far better that we invest money in frontline services rather than bury it in landfill so it's great news that Scotland’s recycling effort saves our local authorities £20 million each year.

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"Our recycling campaign aims to encourage people to recycle more, more often. We have had huge successes with past campaigns which have supported significant increases in household recycling. Latest figures show Scotland's households already recycle nearly 44% of waste but there’s a lot more we could all be doing.

"It’s so easy and important to recycle what we can, in turn saving raw materials and a substantial amount of money. I encourage everyone to go that bit further – be it recycling an additional item or recycling more of what you already do more frequently – to make Scotland a true zero waste society and save even more vital public funds."

Ocean Terminal shoppers were encouraged to try out the campaign’s interactive recycling bank. The interactive bank will be taken to locations across Scotland including university campuses and workplaces during the campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling more.

(GK)