Over 14,000 Households Signed Up To Brown Bin Service

1st June 2017

To date over 14,000 households have made payment for their brown bin collections and it is anticipated this figure will rise as we near the deadline for applications. The Highland Council's new brown bin collection service is due to start on 3rd July 2017. Residents can sign up for this at a charge of just £30 per annum per brown bin.

The Council has decided to extend the deadline for applications from the 4th June to the 9th June to give customers extra time to make sign up should they wish their brown bin service to continue uninterrupted from 3rd July 2017.

If you still haven’t opted to continue to have the brown bin service, you can do so in one of 3 ways. You can pay on-line at www.highland.gov.uk/gardenwaste, you can call 01349 886603 to pay over the phone, or you can also pay at your local Service Point.

Residents who opt into the chargeable service will receive a unique sticker for their brown bin which will alert collection crews to collect the bin from 3 July onwards.

Householders can however still apply to receive the brown bin service after 9th June deadline but the Council cannot guarantee the permit stickers will be delivered in time for their first collection after 3rd July 2017. It takes around 2 weeks for the processing of payments, production and the mailing of the bin permit stickers to customers. Householders paying after the 9th June will receive their first collection at the earliest opportunity, but this will depend on the date of payment, date of receipt of their mailed permit sticker and their individual collection day.

The new Chair of the Council’s Places Committee, Cllr Allan Henderson said, "The service has proved to be very popular with a high volume of applications in such a short time period. Around 25% of customers have so far decided to continue with receiving the service and we expect more to do so over the next week.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to householders for their continued support with recycling and reducing waste going to landfill. At the same time this new charged service will achieve several hundred thousand pounds of savings, which will protect jobs and other essential services."

He continued: “I know that some residents have experienced some problems whilst trying to pay for their brown bin collections. We had some technical problems on Tuesday 23rd and Thursday 25th May which have been resolved and the volume of customers wanting to pay over the phone has resulted in some long delays. I wish to apologise for any inconvenience caused and urge you to try again if you have had any problems. It is very easy to pay on-line at www.highland.gov.uk/gardenwaste, but you can also pay over the phone or at your local Service Points. You can also request extra bins.”

The new service is optional and householders can still take their garden waste along to their local Recycling Centre free of charge. To find your local Recycling Centre that can accept green waste, please visit www.highland.gov.uk/recycle

For households who no longer wish to have a brown bin service, the Council will remove brown bins in December 2017. Empty bins will also be accepted at our Recycling Centres.

For more information please visit www.highland.gov.uk/gardenwaste

Email: recycle@highland.gov.uk or call 01349 886603.