Councils save more than £20 million a year because of household recycling, new figures reveal.
Zero Waste Scotland, the Scottish Government-funded organisation set up to promote recycling and reduce waste, has estimated the saving based on the amount households already recycle through kerbside collections.
This is calculated by comparing recycled material collection and disposal costs with the costs of sending the equivalent weight to landfill.
Meanwhile, Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead has launched the Government's latest recycling campaign.
Mr Lochhead said: "It's far better that we invest money in frontline services rather than bury it in landfill, so it's great news that Scotland's recycling effort saves our local authorities £20 million each year.
"Our recycling campaign aims to encourage people to recycle more, more often. We have had huge successes with past campaigns which have supported significant increases in household recycling. Latest figures show Scotland's households already recycle nearly 44% of waste but there's a lot more we could all be doing."
Iain Gulland, director of Zero Waste Scotland, said: "There's a goldmine of valuable resources in our bins. Recycling more things, more often is a simple step everyone can take to help boost Scotland's economy.
"Recycling avoids landfill tax which can help to save your council money but it can also help to create more jobs and develop industries in Scotland."
