COVID-19 waste and recycling

Domestic waste and recycling

In light of the COVID-19 response, the following temporary alterations to waste and recycling services are in place.

A new national campaign by Zero Waste Scotland has been launched to help households manage their waste during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Face coverings

If your face covering is not reusable, you should dispose of it safely in the general waste bin. Disposable face coverings and gloves cannot be recycled.

Littering is a criminal offence and you can receive a fixed penalty of up to £80. Please respect our communities, wildlife and countryside and put disposable face coverings or gloves in the litter bin, or take them home to dispose of safely.

If you have COVID-19 or live with someone who does, you need to take extra precautions before throwing away disposable face coverings. Double bag personal waste items that have been in contact with the person (including face covering or gloves), store the waste safely for 72 hours, then throw it in the bin.

Kerbside general waste collections (grey bins)

We plan to collect grey bins as normal. Please ensure your bin is presented for collection for 7.30am.

Will the Council accept excess waste (side waste)?

In the current climate when many people are at home please be mindful of the amount of waste you are producing.

Our long term policy on excess/side waste remains in place, excess/side waste should not be presented at kerbside and will not be uplifted.

This position will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and amended as and when necessary. In the meantime we will continue to uplift your general waste bin as normal until further notice.

Please ensure you are using the kerbside recycling and food waste collection services effectively. Putting the right waste in right bin will maximise the capacity of your general waste bin and will also help protect the environment.

We would also ask residents to take any excess bagged general waste to the CRCs. Make sure you read the restrictions before visiting.

Household isolation waste disposal advice

Household isolation will reduce the community spread of COVID-19. This means that everyone living in the same household as someone with symptoms of COVID-19 should follow advice on NHS Inform.

The following details the NHS Inform Stay at home waste disposal advice. Please check NHS Inform for up to date advice:

You can securely store personal waste (such as used tissues) and disposable cleaning cloths within disposable rubbish bags. These should be:

  • placed into another bag
  • tied securely
  • kept separate from other waste in your room
  • put aside for at least 72 hours before being putting in your usual external household waste bin

Other household waste can be disposed of as normal.

Kerbside bulky waste collections

Find the latest information on our bulky uplift service.

Kerbside recycling collections, blue bins and clear sacks

We plan to collect recycling as normal. Please ensure your bin/sacks are presented for collection for 7.30am. Do not put used tissues in your blue bin/sacks. Place these in your general waste bin.

Kerbside food waste collections

We plan to collect food waste as normal. Please ensure containers are presented for collection for 7.30am.

Missed bins

Please ensure all waste and recycling is presented for collection for 7.30am. Please understand that it may not be possible to return for missed bins/sacks until your next scheduled collection day.

Bin delivery/replacements/uplifts

Please understand that we may not be able to deliver/replace/uplift your bin within the usual 10 working days as we redeploy our resources to priority services.

Bin presentation

As more people will be working from home, please consider where you park your vehicle on your scheduled bin collection day. To allow us to safely access your waste and recycling on scheduled collection days:

  • park more than 10m (32ft) from a junction
  • park close to the kerb with wing mirrors folded in
  • keep turning points clear

Assisted collections

There maybe changes to the usual collection crews so please ensure your waste and recycling is easily accessible and visible for staff.

Community recycling centres

Our community recycling centres (CRCs) are open with some restrictions still in place. Please see our dedicated pages for more information.

Recycling points and bottle banks

We plan to maintain the provision of recycling points and bottle banks.

However it is possible that there may be disruption to the servicing frequency. If banks are full please take your materials home and store them for a future visit.

We do not have the staff resource to clean up fly tipped material.

Waste aware activities

All waste education and promotional activities are suspended at this time. If an event has been arranged, you will receive an email from our waste and recycling advisors.