Council gives go ahead for new bin collection policies

22 November 2016

Aberdeen City Council today (Tuesday 22 November) approved two new bin collection policies as part of the city’s waste recycling programme.

The policies for dealing with bins that have missed their collection and for dealing with mixed recycling bins that have non-recyclable items placed in them were given the go ahead by the Zero Waste Management Sub-Committee. These policies will form an important part of Aberdeen’s new kerbside mixed recycling service which comes into effect from next March.

The new collection service will see existing 240 litre general waste bins become mixed recycling bins meaning householders will be able to recycle a wider range of materials at the kerbside than they can at present, including plastic pots, tubs and trays and food and drink cartons. Residents will also be provided with new 180 litre general waste bins when the programme is rolled out.

Councillor Jean Morrison, Zero Waste Sub-committee convener, said: “We are making important changes to the way we collect waste to help us achieve our own and national ambitions for a Zero Waste Aberdeen.

“Kerbside recycling is key to achieving these ambitions and everyone has part to play so it’s important that we have these policies in place so that staff and householders alike know their roles in delivering a more efficient and greener waste service in Aberdeen”.

The new missed bin policy centres on new in-cab technology, allowing the waste collection fleet to log instances where bins are not presented correctly by the householder or where the bin is overlooked and not emptied by the fleet. The process will allow for precise recording to deal with householder complaints or to notify the householder of the reason their bin was not collected

The mixed recycling policy defines what constitutes contamination in terms of non-recyclable items being presented for collection and the severity and frequency of the contamination. The policy outlines the actions that staff should take in different instances including not emptying bins and writing to householders if they are repeat offenders or fill their recycling bins with non-recyclable items.