If you have a blue bin, but you're visiting the recycling banks anyway eg for glass, is it still better to take paper etc there.

Use your blue bin to recycle card, paper, plastic bottles and cans if you are not visiting other recycling banks. However separated recyclate has less chance of becoming contaminated and will essentially be of more value as there is not a an extra sorting process involved. Highland Council encourage people to make use of their recycling centres/points as much as possible and to take any extra materials to them. 

The 'blue bin' materials are sorted into the 4 waste streams i.e paper, cans, cardboard, plastic bottles when they reach the MRF in the central belt. The separation process is done by machinery and by handpicking some of the recyclate and this is when paper and cardboard will be separated. The 4 materials are then sent of to different reprocessors to be recycled