The equivalent of £200k of recyclable waste has been binned this year.

West Dunbartonshire residents sent around 100 bin lorries of recyclable waste to landfill after putting items into the wrong bin.

The materials were identified at Alexandria’s Auchencarroch Recycling Material Facility, where the council sends general waste to be screened and sorted before the remainder is sent to landfill.

The cost of sending waste to landfill is around 30 per cent more than sending waste for recycling. If all waste was placed in the correct bin at source, the council could make a saving of more than £200,000 a year.

Councillor Iain McLaren, convener of infrastructure, regeneration and economic development, and vice convener Councillor Marie McNair visited the Auchencarroch site on August 16.

Cllr McLaren said: “It’s been a real eye opener to see the various bits of re-usable waste that would have ended up in landfill without the council sending it to a facility like this.

“It’s unbelievable that such a large amount of money could be saved simply by communities disposing of their waste into the correct bin.

“The saving made by residents using the correct bin is a significant amount and the money saved could be used by the council to invest in other services.”

Cllr McNair added: “While 49 per cent of our household waste is recycled by residents, we are ambitious and want to increase that number. We can only do that with residents’ help and encourage everyone to think before they bin.

“It was so sad to see the amount of plastic that ended up at Auchencarroch from landfill bins.

“Recycling not only has huge environmental benefits, but the cost implications of not recycling are massive and this money could be used to fund other services like Greenspace or education.”