Public litter bin upgrade underway across Midlothian
An ambitious plan to transform Midlothian’s public spaces with hundreds of new and refurbished litter bins is already making an impact on the county’s streets.
350 bins by the end of 2025
Work is underway on the first stage of the project, which will include the installation, relocation or replacement of around 350 bins by the end of the year.
New bins in town centres
New bins have been installed in Penicuik’s John Street precinct, as well as town centre shopping areas in Dalkeith and Bonnyrigg.
Coming soon
Scheduled for attention next are bins along gala day routes, followed by bus stops and school travel corridors, with shop fronts, public seating areas, and dog walking hot-spots to come.
Levelling up
The work was made possible after the council’s Neighbourhood Environment Team successfully bid for a £51,000 ‘levelling up’ grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, a government-backed scheme open to community projects aimed at restoring a sense of local pride.
Innovative, secure and hygienic
The initiative will see innovative front-opening bins with integral auto-emptying ashtrays installed for the first time in some of Midlothian’s busiest locations. These improve on existing designs by being more secure and hygienic, since they're bolted to the ground and are easier for staff to open and empty.
Many older bins that have become damaged over time are also set to be replaced, with larger bins for litter and recycling being considered where required.
More bins where they’re needed
Elsewhere, on-the-ground intel from the Neighbourhood Environment Team is helping to determine where there are too many bins compared to other locations without enough. To tackle this, bins from under-utilised areas will be refurbished and redeployed in busier places.
Further ahead, plans involve securing additional funding to fully replace these as well - bringing the total number of public litter bins in Midlothian to more than 500, all of which will be new.
Great to see
Cabinet Member for Community Facilities Cllr Dianne Alexander said: “Ensuring we provide the facilities people need in the right places is vitally important. The Neighbourhood Environment Team have been working on this behind the scenes for a while now, and it's great that residents are able to see these fantastic new and refurbished bins starting to appear more widely.”
Keeping Midlothian tidy
Cllr Alexander added: “This project is also a fantastic example of making best use of the resources we have to improve the quality of the local environment. Not only will there be a significant positive impact on the look of our outdoor spaces, but it’s also going to make it much easier for our teams to keep Midlothian clean and tidy, which is another massive plus.”