IT'S green for go as the first facility in Scotland that can recycle flexible plastic and film got up and running in Dunfermline on Monday.

And it’s all thanks to a new machine Fife Council have bought with a £470,000 award they received from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund.

Up until now, householders couldn’t recycle plastic bags, bubble wrap, cling film or ready meal wrappers in their green bins, but that all changed from February 21.

Councillor Ross Vettraino, convener of the council's environment and protective services sub committee, said: “The council is very pleased to start accepting flexible plastics (plastic film) at the kerbside for recycling.

“Fife Council is leading the way and is the first council in Scotland to offer a kerbside collection service for soft plastics.

“Plastics including plastic bags, vegetable bags and wrappers, the film from the top of ready meal trays, plus pet food pouches and bubble wrap can now be deposited in the green bins.”

Based in Dunfermline, the new ‘Tomra Optical Sorter’ will sort and bale plastics that go on to be recycled by YES Recycling in Glenrothes.

The bales are then turned into ecosheet – a plywood alternative that can be used in construction, DIY, agriculture and fabrication.

The new facility is being delivered by Cireco, the council’s arms length organisation.

Cllr Vettraino continued: “By recycling our plastic to make new products such as ecosheets we are moving away from using virgin raw materials and taking a step towards developing a circular economy.

“Not only are we helping reduce carbon emissions and combating climate change when we recycle our plastic, we also make a financial saving by avoiding the £100,000 cost of disposal and landfill tax each year. ”

The Recycling Improvement Fund aims to help communities move to a more circular economy, where materials and products are kept in use for as long as possible, and away from short-term, wasteful, throwaway approaches.

Zero Waste Scotland is administering the fund.