Increase in sign up for garden waste collections in Edinburgh

More residents have signed up for garden waste permits than at the same time last year the City of Edinburgh Council can report following registration closing in the middle of last week. 

To receive brown bin collections when the next service year starts on 9 November, residents must have registered for and paid for a permit at a cost of £25 per bin. Permit stickers will be sent out between 23 October and 4 November to put on your brown bin before the new service year starts. 

The current service year for fortnightly brown bin collections was due to end on 4 October but permits are being extended until 8 November to make up for the service being temporarily suspended in springtime due to coronavirus. The current health pandemic meant that we encouraged residents to register online and we made this easier by making the MyGov sign in optional resulting in over 90% of applicants registering online.

Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said:

It’s great news to see more people signing up for the service because since last October, garden waste customers helped us turn nearly 10,000 tonnes of garden waste into compost, used on farms, gardens and green spaces and so we can increase this in the future. The number of those signing up online is also really encouraging at more than 90% of applicants, freeing up valuable resource to be used elsewhere.

For those who have signed up, you can expect your permit to be delivered between 23 October and 4 November.  There will be another chance to sign up for the service in the New Year but the charge will be the same at £25 per bin and permits will remain valid until November 2021. 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.

Registration figures

Households:       69,055 (last summer 68,705)
Permits:              76,427 (last summer 75,370)

About the service

The next service year will run from 9 November 2020 – 7 November 2021.

Brown bins will be emptied once every two weeks, except over the festive period when there will be no collections between 14 December 2020 and 10 January 2021
There will be another opportunity to sign up to the new service year, but the payment will remain at £25 and permits will be valid until 7 November 2021.
We’ll send you a permit sticker between 23 October and 4 November to put on your brown bin before the new service year starts. We can only empty bins with valid permit stickers.

Exemptions

If you are a low income household and receive Council Tax Reduction (formerly called Council Tax Benefit) or you, or someone who lives with you, has been classed as severely mentally impaired, the service will be free, but you’ll still need to register for the service. Other council tax discounts, such as single occupancy or disabled person discount, don’t qualify for this reduction. Households that pay for garden aid are not exempt from paying for the service.

Further information about the service is available on our website, including details about alternative ways to pay, exemptions, how to pay on behalf of someone else and our terms and conditions.
 

Published: September 21st 2020