Householders urged to check Brown Bins now collections have resumed

9th March 2016

Brown bin garden waste collections have started up again after a 3 month break over the winter and The Highland Council is urging householders to check their bins carefully for any contamination that may have got into them whilst they have been sitting unused.

The brown waste bin is for garden generated organic material only and nothing else should be put in the bins - with the exception of cut flowers from the house. Plastic bags (or any other plastic), soil, stones and rubble must not be included.

Last March the Waste Team carried out extra monitoring to check for and reject contaminated bins which resulted in a marked improvement in quality compared to the previous year. The Council will again be making additional checks now collections have resumed.

Chair of The Highland Council's Community Services Committee, Councillor Allan Henderson, said: "It is very important that we maintain the quality of our garden waste. Composted material has to meet stringent (PAS 100) standards and failure to do so comes at a considerable financial cost to the Council."

The garden waste bin is for grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, twigs and small branches, flowers, plants and weeds only. Notifiable weeds (such as ragwort and Japanese knotweed), animal waste material and kitchen waste should NOT be included. Any excess garden waste can be deposited in the garden waste facilities at Recycling Centres.

Householders might also like to consider home composting; this also gives them the opportunity to include raw fruit and vegetable waste from the kitchen. Additionally home composting provides a valuable source of compost for the garden - or for growing plants in pots.

For more information on the garden waste collection service, details of what can and can't go in the brown bin, and for details of facilities at Recycling Centres, go to www.highland.gov.uk/recycle. You can also call 01349 886603.

To check your collection day and download a new calendar please visit: www.highland.gov.uk/recycle

For information on home composting visit http://www.recycleforscotland.com/reduce/home-composting

What to put in your brown bin

Grass cuttings
Hedge trimmings
Twigs and small branches
Flowers and plants
Weeds
What should NOT be put in brown bins

Food waste or kitchen waste
Vegetable peelings
Raw or cooked food
All types of plastic, including plastic bags
Animal waste
Turf and rubble
Soil
Stones
Glass
Ragwort
Japanese Knotweed
Why you can't put kitchen waste in your brown bin

We compost your garden waste in large, open-air piles. Because this process is carried out in the open air, we are prohibited by law from including any kitchen waste in our composting process. Kitchen waste includes both raw and cooked food, as well as waste from the preparation of food such as vegetable peelings. The Animal By-Products Regulations were developed to prevent the possibility of an outbreak of diseases such as Foot and Mouth, and whilst the Regulations may appear exceedingly stringent, we are obliged to comply with them.

What to do with your fruit and vegetable peelings

Use the food waste collection service if available
If you have a home composting bin or compost heap
If you do not have access to either of the above, then you should put fruit and vegetable peelings in your general waste bin