Renfrewshire waste and recycling services secure national award win

Renfrewshire’s waste and recycling services took the top award at a national awards ceremony for efforts to improve service delivery to make it easier for residents to recycle their waste.  

Renfrewshire Council won Gold in the Waste and Recycling category at the APSE Striving for Excellence Awards 2025 which took place in Aviemore earlier this month. The awards celebrate excellence in the delivery of frontline services such as waste and recycling, parks, grounds and street scene and fleet services to local communities.

Renfrewshire’s submission highlighted two initiatives aimed at encouraging residents to adopt more positive habits towards recycling.

The first project looked to extend food waste collections to all properties in Renfrewshire by improving the bin provision, providing free food waste liners and adding ‘No Food Waste’ stickers to grey bins to reinforce the message. This was supported through Zero Waste Scotland’s Recycling Improvement Fund.

The second initiative focussed on the installation of 12 recycling banks for small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and household batteries in local libraries, supported by funding from Material Focus. The ambition being to make it easier for people to recycle these items and reduce batteries being disposed of in general waste.

The decision to focus efforts on these two areas followed a waste composition analysis carried out by Renfrewshire Council in 2022 which showed 61% of materials collected in grey bins should have been recycled or disposed of elsewhere. 33% of the waste identified was food waste and 1% was small electrical equipment.

Councillor Michelle Campbell, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “I’m delighted that Renfrewshire Council’s efforts to improve recycling have been recognised through the APSE Striving for Excellence Awards.

“This award endorses the innovative solutions we have taken and highlights the positive progress made in removing barriers to recycling to make it as easy as possible for residents.

“I was also proud to see our play park renewal programme recognised with a silver award for our efforts to create modern outdoor play spaces delivered in collaboration with the local community.

“I’d like acknowledge and thank our waste and neighbourhood services teams who have worked tirelessly to ensure they deliver the best service to Renfrewshire residents.”

The Council’s renewal programme for play parks in Renfrewshire received recognition on the night, securing the silver award for ongoing efforts to modernise the parks and ensure they meet the needs of the community.

A total investment of £4,924,000 has been allocated to play parks up to 2026 through Council capital, Scottish Government grant funding and community funds.

The submission highlighted how the programme is focussed on delivering upgrades to the parks in consultation and collaboration with the local community.