Edinburgh Council residents urged to sign up for brown bin uplifts

The current garden waste service year ends on November 8. To continue to receive collections after that date residents need to renew their permit or sign up for one by 2pm on September 9.

The current service year for fortnightly brown bin collections was due to end on October 4 but the council is extending current permits to make up for the service being temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus in the Spring.

Transport and Environment convener, Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “I’m sure that like me you’ll be delighted to hear that since last October, garden waste customers have helped us turn nearly 10,000 tonnes of garden waste into compost, which is used on farms, gardens and green spaces, so I’m pleased to see the service up and running with the chance for people to renew their permits and continue this in the future.

“We need to charge for collection though as our costs are increasing, and more people are using our services, whilst our income is reducing.

“The £25 per year charge was agreed by the Council at a meeting in February 2018 and raised £1.8 million towards the cost of providing the service last year.

“We’ve made a decision to keep our charge at £25 per bin. This is one of the lowest annual fees in Scotland among local authorities operating a similar service and works out at just under 50 pence a week.

“If you’d like your garden waste picked up during our next service year- which starts in November - please make sure you sign up or renew your permit by September 9.”

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to continue collecting your bin every fortnight after November when the next service year starts unless you’re signed up.

Emails and letters are being sent from July 30 to all 70,900 current subscribers to the service advising them on how to renew their permits.