HOMEOWNERS in Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire are cleaning up their act by recycling more and more of their household waste.

A report by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) showed residents of the two regions are also ensuring less is sent to landfill sites by incinerating their wastage.

While a number of Scottish local authorities improved their performances, the statistics for Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire place both well above the national average.

In Renfrewshire, the household waste recycling rate for 2016 stood at 48.5 per cent.

This is an increase of 4.6 per cent from the 43.9 per cent achieved in the previous year.

Neighbouring East Renfrewshire became the first Scottish council to recycle more than 60 per cent of household waste (60.8) – up 4.4 per cent from 2015.

Nationally, the household waste recycling rate rose by 1 per cent to 45.2 per cent.

Last year, those living in Renfrewshire generated 83,661 tonnes of waste, almost 600 tonnes fewer than in 2015.

There was also a 6,678-tonne decrease in household waste disposed to landfill.

East Renfrewshire residents produced 844 tonnes less – 47,724 – in those 12 months than in 2015, while the amount of waste deposited at landfill sites from the region also fell by 2,218 tonnes.

The total quantity of household waste generated in Scotland was 2.50 million tonnes in 2016.

Although 30,000 tonnes extra were created on the previous year, there was a 19,000-tonne, or 1.6 per cent, decrease in household waste sent to landfill.

In total, 3.72 million tonnes of waste was landfilled in Scotland last year, representing a drop of 465,000 from 2015.

Scottish households also incinerated 683,000 tonnes of wastage in that time – an increase of 28,000 from 2015 and 273,000 from 2011.

Iain Gulland, Zero Waste Scotland chief executive, said: “It’s vital that councils continue to invest in high-quality recycling services, including educating local residents, if we are to reach national targets.”