0:00:05.385,0:00:12.748
Hello, my name is Erin McCluskey. [br]I am an outreach worker for BDA Scotland.

0:00:12.748,0:00:15.657
I’m very excited to be making this [br]video with my amazing guest today.

0:00:15.657,0:00:16.667
Could you introduce yourself please?

0:00:17.090,0:00:19.446
Hi. My name is James Colhoun.

0:00:19.446,0:00:23.446
In this video we’re going to cover an [br]interesting topic. Under the BSL (Scotland)

0:00:23.446,0:00:27.446
Act 2015, local councils across Scotland [br]have certain obligations.

0:00:27.446,0:00:29.666
One of the services councils provide [br]is rubbish and recycling collections.

0:00:29.666,0:00:33.126
In this video we want to focus on why[br]it’s important to separate out your recycling.

0:00:33.126,0:00:36.489
Before I get carried away, [br]I should ask James to explain his role.

0:00:37.047,0:00:42.197
Sure. I work at a recycling centre [br]dealing with the glass.

0:00:42.631,0:00:47.401
The glass is all processed and recycled [br]and reused to make the special white paint

0:00:47.401,0:00:52.311
used to paint lines on motorways. [br]The glass makes the paint glow at night

0:00:52.311,0:00:55.081
when it is lit up by headlights. [br]It is also used to create a similar effect

0:00:55.081,0:01:01.541
in the reflective strips on Hi-Vis jackets. [br]These things are both made from recycled glass.

0:01:01.779,0:01:06.195
They are really made from glass? [br]That’s amazing! Can I ask James,

0:01:06.195,0:01:10.686
why is it so important to separate out [br]your recycling, your glass, your paper,

0:01:10.686,0:01:15.877
your plastic and so on? Why do we have [br]to put all these things into separate bins?

0:01:16.496,0:01:27.836
It is really important, yes. I really want [br]to emphasise that. It’s important to

0:01:27.836,0:01:36.046
separate it all out. In Glasgow, [br]the green bins are for general waste

0:01:36.046,0:01:38.796
so anything that’s not suitable for [br]recycling should go in those.

0:01:38.796,0:01:45.506
The purple bin is for your bottles and jars, [br]the brown bin is for food waste,

0:01:45.506,0:01:56.446
the grey bin is for plastics, and the [br]blue bin is for cardboard and paper.

0:01:56.446,0:02:00.895
You can put shredded paper in there too.[br]It’s really important to keep all this

0:02:00.895,0:02:03.926
waste separate, and I will explain why. [br]So, as I said before, I work on the glass.

0:02:03.926,0:02:09.366
When the lorries come into the recycling [br]centre, all the glass that they have collected

0:02:09.366,0:02:16.216
up is put into a big hopper. It is my job [br]to load it into the hopper,

0:02:16.216,0:02:17.686
which is like a giant funnel.

0:02:17.686,0:02:19.456
So the glass goes into the top of that?

0:02:19.456,0:02:21.886
Yes, that’s right, into the top and then [br]down into the hopper. Obviously, I can’t

0:02:21.886,0:02:26.466
see inside it. If a piece of wood for [br]example or some food waste or plastic

0:02:26.466,0:02:33.816
gets mixed up with that, it makes a real [br]mess and destroys the whole process.

0:02:33.816,0:02:36.816
It can break the machinery and then that [br]will need to be fixed. This means that the

0:02:36.816,0:02:40.816
lorries returning to the recycling centre [br]back up because they can’t unload.

0:02:40.816,0:02:44.816
It’s the same thing with the plastic. [br]If it gets mixed up with other types of waste,

0:02:44.816,0:02:48.117
it causes all sorts of problems. [br]Please, please don’t do that!

0:02:48.117,0:02:52.029
There is no way for us to sort through it [br]so if it does get mixed up, we just have to

0:02:52.029,0:02:59.964
throw the whole lot away. It gets [br]compressed and dumped into landfill!

0:02:59.964,0:03:02.094
So that means it can’t be recycled?

0:03:02.094,0:03:05.474
Unfortunately not, no. It has to be dumped [br]because it’s contaminated.

0:03:05.474,0:03:09.474
Lots of people don’t follow the system and [br]just dump their waste into any bin,

0:03:09.474,0:03:12.754
so it all gets mixed up. It’s no good [br]though if it’s not done right.

0:03:12.754,0:03:18.504
I see your point. Recycling needs to go into [br]the correct bin and that’s really important,

0:03:18.504,0:03:19.364
judging by what you say.

0:03:19.364,0:03:22.164
It is, yes. If everything was separated [br]out correctly, the process would run really

0:03:22.164,0:03:25.334
smoothly, and everything would get [br]recycled. Recycling helps the planet,

0:03:25.334,0:03:27.564
it saves trees. We all need to look [br]after the environment.

0:03:27.564,0:03:29.754
If people just sorted their rubbish[br]properly, the recycling process would

0:03:29.754,0:03:32.014
run smoothly. If people ignore the [br]instructions, we’re just going to end up

0:03:32.014,0:03:33.084
repeating the same thing.

0:03:33.084,0:03:37.084
Thank you for explaining why it’s so important, [br]James. This is a great opportunity

0:03:37.084,0:03:39.757
to remind everybody that each council [br]has its own system for collecting recycling.

0:03:39.757,0:03:42.264
The bins are not the same colour in [br]every place. It’s best that you check your

0:03:42.264,0:03:45.106
own council’s website to find out what [br]the system is in your area. If you can’t find

0:03:45.106,0:03:48.576
the information you need, you can contact [br]the BSL Helpline, and they will make sure

0:03:48.576,0:03:51.716
that you find the information you need [br]to recycle effectively and do your bit to

0:03:51.716,0:03:55.716
keep our environment clean. Thank you [br]so much for your time today, James.

0:03:55.716,0:03:56.506
No problem, thank you.