Three Scottish local authorities are set to receive a boost in their recycling services thanks to a £3.4m investment from Holyrood’s Recycling Improvement Fund.

The projects in Aberdeen City, Perth and Kinross and Renfrewshire Council that will benefit from the funding have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by over 8,000 tonnes each year – the equivalent of taking more than 4,400 cars off the road.

Fifteen local authorities have now benefited from the fund, which will be worth £70m over five years.

Circular economy minister Lorna Slater said: ‘Recycling has a huge role to play in Scotland’s response to the climate crisis. Our £70m Recycling Improvement Fund is delivering one of the biggest investments in recycling and reuse in Scotland in a generation.

‘Hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland will benefit from projects supported by the fund, which will make it easier for households to recycle and increase local recycling rates.’

Cllr Gail Macgregor, COSLA spokesperson for Environment and Economy, said: ‘It is at the forefront of our thinking to make it easier to live well locally and to do the ‘right’ thing when it comes to waste, recycling and reuse. We want to have clear and effective systems in place to improve recycling and waste processing in our local communities, and improve these consistently.

‘Local government is fully committed to combatting climate change and supporting the Just Transition to a net zero society. We need to tackle this with the same urgency as we have tackled COVID, which is why the Recycling Improvement Fund is so important.’

Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: ‘This latest round of Recycling Improvement Fund investment from the Scottish Government signifies the continuous commitment to improving Scotland’s recycling infrastructure. Through our Charter for Household Recycling, councils have pledged to bring in consistent and comprehensive recycling services across Scotland.

‘It’s fantastic to see support for such innovative projects that will help achieve this goal. Recycling as much as possible will help to address climate change, so we want to make this process as simple, and effective, as possible for the citizens of Scotland.’