Work to clear mountains of rubbish on Edinburgh’s stinking streets begins tomorrow
The City of Edinburgh Council is preparing to resume waste and cleansing services following industrial action.
With the scheduled strike due to end at 4.59am on Tuesday, additional resources are being deployed to support street cleansing and communal bin collections, particularly in the city centre and other areas most affected by the strike.
Residents receiving kerbside collections are being asked to put their bins out as normal on their scheduled collection day. Extra waste will be collected during this time, if it is bagged and put next to wheelie or communal bins
Blue box (glass) collections will continue to be suspended to prioritise resources, though Household Waste and Recycling Centres will reopen from Tuesday with extended hours. Bookings can be made online as normal.
Full details of bin collection days, the recovery plan and advice on dealing with waste can be found on the Council website.
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “I regret the impact this national crisis has had on our Capital city and am continuing to press the Scottish Government to fund an acceptable settlement. Talks are continuing over the weekend and I’m hopeful we can reach agreement and prevent any further disruption.
“As I’ve said throughout, I fully respect the right of our colleagues to take this action and have their voices heard. As a trade union member myself, I’ve joined the picket lines in support of fair pay for our workforce and will do so again.”
He may have joined a picket line, but Edinburgh’s Labour council leader has been criticised for voting AGAINST a 5% pay offer to the striking workers, instead voting with the Tories at a Cosla meeting to support an increase of just 3.5% – an offer that would never have been acceptable to the trade unions.
However Cllr Day went on:”This dispute has brought the value of our waste and cleansing teams – and their right to fair wage – into sharp focus and I’m delighted they’ll be back out from Tuesday, helping to return our city to its best.
“While they’ll be working hard to catch up on collections and making every effort to collect litter across the city, it’ll take time for things to return to normal. Please bear with them as they do so and, if you can store your extra waste safely for a little longer or are able to book an appointment at a recycling centre, please do so.
“If your bin is not collected on its normal day, please leave it out and it’ll be picked up as soon as possible thereafter.
“I appreciate that this has been an extremely challenging period for us all and I would like to thank our residents, businesses and visitors for their continued patience and understanding.”
While the industrial action in Edinburgh ends tomorrow, the pay claim has not been resolved and further strikes will follow unless a settlement can be reached. Some progress has been made however and a deal is edging closer – Cosla and the trade unions will meet for a fifth day of talks later today.
Services restart 30 August
Our bin collection and street cleaning services will restart on Tuesday 30 August.
We’ll be working hard to catch up on collections after the strike action.
If you are able to take excess waste, such as cardboard, plastics and other dry recycling, to the household waste recycling centres, please book an appointment. This would help our teams collect other waste more quickly. Recycling centres hours have been extended.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Communal services
- Communal bin collections are restarting from 30 August.
- We will collect excess waste – please bag it and place it neatly beside the bin. If you can, please put mixed recycling in a clear bag.
- Do not leave large bulky items, like furniture or mattresses, beside bins. Please book a special uplift or book an appointment to take it to a recycling centre.
- We have additional council teams helping with collections however it may take time for collections to get back to normal and we appreciate your patience.
Kerbside services
- Restarting on 30 August and will be focused on key services.
- There may be some disruption as we catch up on the backlog.
- Please put your bins out on your next scheduled collection day. Check when your next scheduled collection day is.
- If your bins are not emptied on your normal collection day, please leave them out until we get to them.
Non-recyclable waste collections (grey bins)
- Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
- We will collect excess waste as long as it is bagged. Please bag your extra waste neatly beside your wheelie bin on your scheduled collection day.
Mixed recycling collections (green bins)
- Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
- We will collect excess waste as long as it is bagged. Please bag your extra waste neatly beside your wheelie bin on your scheduled collection day. If possible, please bag your mixed recycling in a clear bag.
Food waste collections
- Restarting on 30 August.
- Please put your food bin out on your next scheduled collection day. Please do not present excess food waste outside the caddy.
Glass collections (blue box)
- To allow us to catch up with collecting other waste, kerbside glass collections is still suspended. We will let you know when this collection will restart.
- If you want to, you can make an appointment to take your glass to one of our household waste recycling centres.
Garden waste collections (brown bins)
- Restarting on 30 August. Please put your bin out on your next scheduled collection day.
- If you’re a garden waste customer, we’ll be in touch shortly with details of how we’ll compensate you for any collections missed during the strike.
Gull proof sacks
- Please put your sack out for collection on your scheduled collection day this week.
- We will collect extra waste. Please bag it and leave it neatly beside your sack.
Litter bins and street cleansing
- These services will restart from 30 August.
- Our street cleansing teams will be prioritising the city centre, town centres, and areas with high footfall and many on-street bins.
- We’ll be working hard to collect litter across the city but it may take time to catch up on the backlog. Thank you for your patience.
Request and replacing bins and boxes
Our repair, replacement or removal of bins and boxes service is still suspended. This is to allow us to divert resources to cleansing and waste collections.
Waste reporting and enquires
We have removed online reporting for waste and cleansing as we focus on catching up with cleansing and waste collections.
If you need to report an emergency issue where waste is causing injury or hazard, please phone and listen to the new options carefully. Phone 0131 608 1100 from
- Monday to Thursday between 10am and 4pm
- Friday between 10am and 3pm
After these hours, phone 0131 200 2000.