Brown bin

Terms and conditions

The service

  • These terms and conditions relate to the chargeable garden waste collection service provided by Midlothian Council (hereafter known as ‘the council’ ) for the kerbside collection of compostable household garden waste presented in a brown / brown-lidded 240 litre wheeled bin.

Registration and payment

  • The charge for the brown bin collection in 2019 is £35.00 per bin emptied on a fortnightly basis between March and November.
  • Up to six bins can be registered and paid for at an individual address. The charge will be applied to each bin.
  • There will be no pro rata payments for customers who join the service part way through the year.
  • If you change your mind, you may cancel the registration at any time, by sending an email with your details to [email protected]
  • If you cancel within 14 days of registration you will receive a full refund. If you cancel after 14 days of registration you will not receive a refund.
  • A bin sticker will be issued for each bin registered and paid for. Bin stickers are non-transferrable and only valid when presented at the property for which they were originally purchased.
  • If payment is received on or before 21 February 2019, bin stickers will be delivered in time for your first scheduled brown bin collection.
  • For payments received after 21 February 2019 bin sticker delivery may take up to 6 weeks
  • Only bins displaying a valid sticker will be emptied

Refunds

  • Bin stickers are non-transferrable and only valid when presented at the property for which they were originally purchased.
  • No refund of fees will be applicable in the event that a resident moves property within Midlothian to one without a brown bin or moves out of Midlothian during the payment period.

Shared bins or multiple bins at a specific property

  • If you want to share a bin with one or more neighbours, you must agree one person who will register and pay for the collection service. It will be the responsibility of that group of neighbours to arrange their own payments among themselves and to ensure the bin is presented on the correct days.

Collection and non-collection of bins

  • Brown bins must be used for the presentation of compostable garden waste only. Find out how to use your brown bin correctly (opens in new browser tab).
  • Bins must be presented at the kerbside by 07:00am on the day of collection.
  • The council reserves the right not to empty brown bins in the following instances:
    • Bins contain incorrect items
    • Bins are too heavy to safely manoeuvre
    • Bins are in poor condition (eg: wheels or lids broken)
    • Garden waste is heavily compacted or the contents are frozen
    • Bins are presented with the lid open or ajar
  • It shall be solely for the council to determine if any bin meets any of the above criteria.
  • It will be the sole responsibility of the householder to remove any contamination or excess weight from the bin, and present the bin on the next collection day.
  • No refund will be made for bins which are not emptied for the reasons listed previously.
  • Wheeled bins that are presented after 07.00am, and are not emptied, will not be emptied by the council until the next scheduled collection day. No refund will be made for bins not emptied for this reason.
  • No refunds will be made if a bin is not emptied as a result of our actions. Instead we will try to fix the failure. If you tell us by the end of the following working day that we have not emptied your bin and this is an error on our part we aim to return to empty your bin within three working days of the notification. Report a missed collection online (opens in new browser tab).

New, repair or replacement of bins

Change of address

  • If you move home - please leave the bin at the property.

 

Please note these Terms and Conditions are subject to change at the council’s discretion without notice.

The council expressly reserves the right to withdraw the service for the collection of waste without notice in the event of war or other emergency, civil commotion, riot, strikes, adverse weather conditions or other circumstances outwith its control. No refund of fees will be applicable in the event of the loss of service for the reasons detailed in this section.

Find more information on the chargeable garden waste collection service (opens in new browser tab).

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