Tag: brown bins

Time to sign up for garden waste collection

The current garden waste service year ends on 8 November

To continue to receive collections in the next service year which runs until 7 November 2021, residents need to renew their permit or sign up for one by 2pm on 9 September. The cost remains at £25 per bin.

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

The current health pandemic also means that CEC is encouraging residents to register online and they have made this easier by making the MyGov sign in optional. 

Unfortunately, you’re not able to pay in person at locality offices this year as they are being used as community resilience centres for coronavirus, but you can also pay over the phone. Phone lines are likely to be busy so if you’re unable to register online yourself, we’d encourage you to ask a friend or relative to help you.

Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “Just over 40,000 people have already signed up to receive the service, but I would urge anyone who wants to continue having their brown bin collected but hasn’t yet registered to do so in the next couple of weeks to avoid a gap in collections.  

“The quickest and easiest way to do this is online, which is why 90% of the people who have already registered have done so via our website. We know not everyone has access to the internet though, and there is an option for registration over the phone.  

The council has 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.

Emails and letters were sent to all 70,900 current subscribers to the service advising them on how to renew their permits.

About the service

  • Permits cost £25 per brown bin. 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.
  • The deadline to register is 2pm on 9 September and the quickest and easiest way to do this is on our website.
  • You can also register and pay over the phone by calling 0131 357 2800. Please note we expect phone lines to be busy and there may be long waiting times. Phonelines are open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3.40pm Friday. Please note we don’t accept cash or cheques.
  • The deadline to register is 2pm on 9 September and the quickest and easiest way to do this is on our website.
  • 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.
  • Once we’ve received your payment, 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 the City of Edinburgh Council website, including details about alternative ways to pay, exemptions, how to pay on behalf of someone else and our terms and conditions.

Sign up for garden waste collection

The current garden waste service year ends on 8 November. Registration opens from 10am this Thursday (30th July).

  • Registration opens for garden waste on 30 July and the cost remains at £25 per bin
  • Residents need to sign up by 9 September to continue to use the service
  • We’re extending the current service year until 8 November to make up for collections being temporarily suspended due to coronavirus

To continue to receive collections in the next service year which runs until 7 November 2021, residents need to renew their permit or sign up for one by 2pm on 9 September. 

The current service year for fortnightly brown bin collections was due to end on 4 October but we’re extending current permits to make up for the service being temporarily suspended in springtime due to coronavirus. The current health pandemic also means that we’re encouraging residents to register online and we’ve made this easier by making the MyGov sign in optional. 

Unfortunately, you’re not able to pay in person at locality offices this year as they are being used as community resilience centres for coronavirus, but you can also pay over the phone. Phone lines are likely to be busy so if you’re unable to register online yourself, we’d encourage you to ask a friend or relative to help you.

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 2pm on 9 September. 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 to all 70,900 current subscribers to the service advising them on how to renew their permits so look out for those dropping into your inbox from 30 July.

About the service

  • Permits cost £25 per brown bin. 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.
  • The deadline to register is 2pm on 9 September and the quickest and easiest way to do this is on our website.
  • You can also register and pay over the phone by calling 0131 357 2800. Please note we expect phone lines to be busy and there may be long waiting times. Phonelines are open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3.40pm Friday. Please note we don’t accept cash or cheques.
  • The deadline to register is 2pm on 9 September and the quickest and easiest way to do this is on our website.
  • 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.
  • Once we’ve received your payment, we’ll send you a new garden waste calendar and 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 the city council website, Including details about alternative ways to pay, exemptions, how to pay on behalf of someone else and terms and conditions.

Brown bin collections back next month

Garden waste (brown bin) collections will resume in Edinburgh from week commencing 11 May.

The service was suspended in April as part of the city’s response to the coronavirus crisis, allowing us to divert resources to other, essential waste collections and helping crews observe social distancing measures.

The return of team members from absence, as well as the bedding in of new collection arrangements, means we will be able to reintroduce garden waste collections.

Anyone with a garden waste permit will be compensated for the break in service with an extension to their permit to cover this time. We will contact customers in due course with further information.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “We’ve made every effort to continue to run core services, including waste collections, and I’m grateful to residents for their understanding of why we’ve had to make some temporary changes under these extraordinary circumstances.

“Its thanks to the enormous hard work of the Council’s waste team that we’re beginning to see those services returning to normal.

“I know many residents will be keen to get out and tend to their gardens and I’d like to thank them for their patience while brown bin collections were temporarily suspended to help us respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

“We will be extending the time period that the current payments cover to make sure residents get the number of collections they paid for and we’ll be writing to households with further details later in the year.

Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “Recent changes have helped to protect the safety of workers and I’m pleased to see that the service has adjusted to these. The crews who pick up our bins play a crucial role, and it’s thanks to their hard work that we can reintroduce brown bin collections.

“I hope residents help us to keep protecting crews’ safety by storing any excess garden waste for their next collection, as otherwise bins may become too heavy to lift.”

Residents should check their collection calendars to find out when their brown bins will next be picked up.

We’re encouraging people to store any excess garden waste that won’t fit in the bin until their next collection dates – overflowing bins, heavy bins or waste placed at the side of bins won’t be collected.

We are writing to and emailing all those who have signed up for the garden waste service with details of its reintroduction, as well as plans for compensation for the collections that have been missed.

From today, (Tuesday, 28 April), the council has also reintroduced kerbside glass recycling collections, which were suspended in March.

During the first weeks, residents are asked to put out only one blue box and to store any excess glass for the next collection, as boxes may become too heavy to lift, posing a health risk to crews.

Special uplifts are currently suspended while Household Waste and Recycling Centres remain closed but efforts are being made to reintroduce these services as soon as it is safe to do so.

Anyone with symptoms of coronavirus is encouraged to follow the guidance on how to dispose of waste correctly to help protect the safety of bin collection crews.

Further information on changes to bin collections and other services can be found on the Council website.

Don’t burn garden waste, pleads council leader

Edinburgh’s Council Leader has urged residents not to burn garden waste or any other rubbish to help protect others’ safety, particularly the vulnerable and those with respiratory problems.

Adam McVey has been joined by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to urge the public to dispose of waste responsibly, rather than burning it.

Garden waste collections have been paused in Edinburgh to allow crews to focus on other, essential collections during the coronavirus outbreak. People are being encouraged to compost cuttings and grass in the meantime, or to hang onto it until collections resume.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “It’s been extremely heartening to see Edinburgh’s residents playing their part in our response to this crisis by staying indoors and looking out for one another.

“Be assured that as soon as we can we will resume garden collections and reopen the community recycling centres. But for now, and we don’t yet know how long for, we’re asking you to help in our effort to keep residents and our waste staff safe. We really appreciate your patience while we’re not able to collect garden waste and glass recycling due to the changes we’ve had to make.

“We appreciate that while our garden waste collections have stopped to let us deliver other, essential services people will need to find ways of managing their excess garden waste where they don’t have means to home compost. But we are appealing to anyone carrying out gardening this weekend not to get rid of it by burning bonfires, as the smoke can pose a risk to people’s health, particularly the vulnerable and those with respiratory problems.

“By following our tips for composting garden waste, or hanging on to it until collections begin again, instead of burning it, you will be helping us to safeguard the health of people who live here, as well as reducing any impact on our emergency services.”

Kenny Rogers, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Local Senior Officer for the City of Edinburgh, said: “As we all spend more time indoors, you can help us help you by working to reduce risk in and around your home.

“We will always be here for our communities, but when firefighters are mobilised to unnecessary incidents, it can divert them from genuine emergencies.

“That is why I would urge everyone to stay safe this Easter weekend and to do their bit to protect themselves and others by disposing of garden refuse carefully and responsibly.”

Find out more about the Council’s response to the coronavirus, and service changes, online.

Sign up for garden waste collection

The new registration window for the Council’s garden waste collection service year – October 2019 to October 2020 – opens on Wednesday.

Garden waste bin

The current garden waste service year ends on 6 October 2019. To receive collections after this date, in the next service year which runs until 4 October 2020, residents need to renew their permit or sign up for one by 2pm on 7 August.  Continue reading Sign up for garden waste collection

Registration for controversial new brown bin service opens on Monday

Registration for garden waste collections will open next week ahead of the introduction of a controversial new service in October. From Monday (18th June), Edinburgh residents must sign up on the Council website or at one of five local offices.if they wish to continue receiving brown bin collections. The annual brown bin collection service will cost residents £25.

Continue reading Registration for controversial new brown bin service opens on Monday