Second chance for residents who missed the deadline for garden waste bin collection

Residents in East Lothian who missed the deadline to sign up to a new garden waste bin collection will be given a second chance later this summer. 

East Lothian Council scraps its free garden bin service at the end of this month with an annual fee of £35 for people who want to continue using it. 

The local authority said the ‘vast majority’ of users of the brown bins had already signed up for a permit with 19, 600 people paying for it and an estimated 22,000 bins regularly put out for collection across the county. 

Now it aims to give those who may have missed the May deadline to sign up a second chance with a second window opening at the end of August. 

The second registration period will be open from August 26 to September 6. 

A council spokesperson said: “The council is in the process of finalising the routing and schedule for those who have already signed up. Residents who have registered during this period will shortly receive their permit sticker and collection calendars. 

“Residents wishing to sign up for the service between August 26 and September 6 will be able to do so online until 3.30pm on Friday, September 6. 

“Those who sign up during this window will have their collections run from October 21, 2024, to September 1, 2025.” 

The local authority recently moved household waste collections from fortnightly to every three weeks and will change garden waste collection from monthly to fortnightly. 

Residents in the county also have a food recycling caddy, separate boxes for glass and paper and a white bag for plastic, tins and cartons which are collected weekly. 

By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter