Last chance to sign up for Garden Waste collections

Anyone who’s still keen to have their brown bin collected fortnightly between now and October is urged to sign up when registrations open from 10am (Monday 20 January). The closing date is 2pm on Monday 3 February.

The current garden waste service year began on 7 October 2019 and runs until 4 October 2020. This is the final registration opportunity for this service year.

Registration for collections in the next service year (Oct 2020 – Oct 2021) will open in the summer. All current permit-holders will need to renew their garden waste registration at this point, as they did in summer 2019 for the current service year.

Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “We’ve recycled over 20,000 tonnes of garden waste through our garden waste service since it launched in October 2018 and we’re so grateful to residents for helping us turn their grass cuttings, fallen leaves, hedge clippings and weeds into nutrient-rich compost, which is used on farms, gardens and green spaces.

“If you’d like your garden waste picked up in this service year, please make sure you sign up by 2pm on by 3 February.

“Our £25 subscription fee is one of the most competitive rates in Scotland among local authorities operating a similar service – it works out at just under 50 pence a week.”

ABOUT THE SERVICE

• Permits cost £25 per brown bin and residents are entitled to register for more than one bin if they wish
• The current service year began on 7 October 2019 and runs until 4 October 2020
• More than 68,700 households are currently subscribed to the service (over 75,000 individual permits).

What goes in your brown bin (and what doesn’t)

You can put these in your brown wheelie bin

• flowers, plants and weeds
• grass cuttings and leaves
• hedge clippings, twigs and small branches

You can’t put these in your brown wheelie bin:

• animal waste and bedding
• plant pots
• soil and turf

Christmas trees should be cut in half and placed beside your brown garden bin on your street’s designated collection day in January only.

• Find out what goes in each of your individual kerbside bins

For residents who receive Council Tax Reduction (formerly called Council Tax Benefit) the service will continue to be free, but they do still need to register for the service. Other council tax discounts, such as single occupancy discount or garden aid, do not qualify for this reduction.

Information for residents

• The deadline to register is 2pm on 3 February and the quickest and easiest way to do this is on our website.
• Register for the service at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/gardenwaste (you need to register for an online mygov.scot account first).
• A one-off payment of £25 will be taken by debit or credit card, unless you’re exempt from paying because you receive Council Tax Reduction.
• Once we’ve received your payment, we’ll send you a new garden waste calendar and a permit sticker in early March to put on your brown bin. We can only empty bins with valid permit stickers.

Other ways to pay

• You can pay by debit/credit card or cash at our Customer Hub (High Street) or South West (West Side Plaza) locality offices only.
• If you don’t have access to the internet you can use the self-service kiosks at one of our five local offices (you’ll need to have registered for an online mygov.scot account first or have access to email on a mobile). Your local library also offers free internet access

– North East Office, 101 Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH16 4DS

– North West Office, 8 West Pilton Gardens, Edinburgh, EH4 4DP

– South East Office, 40 Captain’s Road, Edinburgh, EH17 8QF

– South West Office, 10 Westside Plaza, Edinburgh, EH14 2ST

– Customer Hub, 249 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1YJ

• You can register and pay over the phone by calling 0131 608 1100 (press option 1, then option 9, then option 1). Please note we expect phone lines to be busy and there may be long waiting times. Phone lines are open Monday – Thursday, 8.30am – 5pm and Friday 8.30am – 3.40pm.
• We don’t accept cheques.

Further information

More information about the garden waste service, our terms and conditions and what to do with your garden waste if you choose not to sign up to the service is available at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/gardenwaste.