East Lothian Council brown bins: £35 annual charge confirmed

The charge for emptying the 'brown bins' will be brought in on July 1 and will require a pre-paid permit for a year.

The decision was taken during budget discussions in February last year but exact details, and timescales, are only just emerging.

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: "The permit scheme will open at start of April providing time for applications to be made, permits printed and issued and routes then confirmed for service to begin."

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According to the local authority, garden waste uplifts are not a statutory service so there is no obligation for local authorities to offer it.

The spokesperson added: "Some councils (Scottish Borders for example) stopped the service a number of years ago and others, including our neighbouring authorities Edinburgh and Midlothian, have operated a similar permit system for a number of years.

"If you want to get garden waste collections then information will be provided in due course on how householders can apply, pay their £35 for a year, and they will receive a sticker that is applied on the brown bin.

"The crews will then only collect/empty bins that have the sticker."

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Brown bins are used to recycle items including grass cuttings, hedge clippings, leaves, twigs and small branches, plants, weeds and flowers.

All the material collected is taken to Forth Resource Management’s composting facility at East Fenton.

The compost is then used for landscaping or sold as a soil improver called Caledonian Green Goodness Compost.

East Lothian residents have six separate bins or containers for every household: a green household waste bin; brown garden waste bin; blue recycling box for paper and cardboard; a black or green box for glass; a white bag for plastic, metal and cartons; and a food waste caddy.