BROWN bins will be emptied by East Lothian Council this weekend and next weekend. 

Garden waste collections had been halted throughout the county due to the coronavirus.

Many residents had taken to social media urging the council to reinstate the service, with collections now taking place tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday, as well as next Saturday (May 9) and next Sunday (May 10).

A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “During these weekends, residents should place their brown bin at the kerbside on the relevant Saturday morning no later than 7am and leave out until collected, which can be up to 4pm on the Sunday.

“We will collect from all properties; however issues may arise outwith our control where we are unable to complete a collection given the scale of the operation being carried out or due to access issues. 

“If this occurs, we apologise in advance to any residents who may miss this collection. 

“If your bin is not collected by 4pm on the Sunday, please retrieve your brown bin and continue to store your garden waste until we have the resources available to attempt collections again.

“Although crews will try their hardest to reach every property, please be aware that due to difficulties posed by the current Covid-19 pandemic we will be unable to reschedule missed bins or bins that may not be fully emptied due to jammed contents.”

And she added: “We are aware that many residents will have excess garden waste stored in bags or other containers. The collection crews cannot uplift additional containers/bags of garden waste as this will reduce the overall amount of properties that can have their brown bin emptied.”

Residents who, under normal circumstances, would have had their brown bin emptied on either April 20, 21, 22, 23 or 24 should put their bin out tomorrow (Saturday) for collection this weekend. 

Anyone who was due to have their bin collected on either April 27, 28, 29, 30 or May 1 should put their bin out next Saturday, May 9.

The council spokeswoman added: “Please follow these guidelines when presenting your garden waste for collection: do not overfill/pack the bin – if the contents cannot slide out of the bin we cannot empty it; make sure the bin is not too heavy – our staff have to be able to move the bin and our vehicles have to be able to lift the bin to empty it; and do not put general waste in the bin as it will not be collected.”

Councillor Norman Hampshire, the local authority’s spokesman for the environment, said it was an issue which many people had got in touch about.

He said: “Many of us have been contacted by householders concerned with the temporary suspension of the garden waste collection service, but current staffing levels and other difficulties mean that the council’s priorities are to maintain the other waste services including household and food waste and kerbside recycling collections. 

“After exploring various options, we were delighted when crew members offered to work additional hours to provide an interim service over two weekends. 

“I am grateful for the crews’ availability and flexibility for work patterns over this period and I am sure many local residents who receive the garden waste service will join me in thanking them for their actions during these challenging times.

“I think it is also worth noting that garden waste collection is not a statutory requirement for local authorities – we are not required to offer this service. 

“East Lothian Council is one of a few councils in Scotland that still delivers a regular garden waste collection without any additional supplementary charge. 

“Although sometimes known as the ‘Garden County’ of Scotland it’s also interesting to note that only around 55 per cent of households in East Lothian actually require this particular service.”

County MSP Iain Gray said: “Under the current circumstances, it is very difficult for councils to maintain their normal range of services and many local authorities have suspended all or some of their recycling collection services. 

“So East Lothian Council is to be commended for continuing to provide its normal waste and recycling collection service.  

“Even more to their credit is listening to the public about the need for garden waste collections, with so many people using lockdown to work in their gardens – so full marks for scheduling this interim brown bin collection next month.”