The council’s controversial proposal to introduce bin hubs in Drummond Place has kept the committee busy with meetings and the distribution of trial recycling sacks.
Arrangements for waste collection and recycling differ according to whether you live on Drummond Place or one of the surrounding streets. For those of you on one of the surrounding streets:
- Landfill waste should be disposed of in one of the (usually) black containers located in your street.
- Glass (on the one hand) and mixed recycling and paper (on the other hand) are collected on alternating Friday mornings from outside your house. This waste should go in one of the blue (for glass) or red (for mixed recycling and paper) boxes provided by the Council.
- Food waste should be disposed of in one of the small black containers, again provided by the Council. It is collected on Tuesday mornings.
For residents of Drummond Place:
- Landfill waste should be put in a black gull-proof sack, which will be collected on a Tuesday morning. If you do not have a sack, please contact the DCA and we shall provide you with one.
- Glass should be put out in a blue box (provided by the Council) and is collected on alternate Friday mornings.
- Mixed recycling and paper should be put in a green gull-proof sack, which is collected every Thursday morning. The waste should go in a clear plastic bag for uplift you’re your sack. If you do not have a green sack, please contact the DCA and we shall provide you with one. We also have a supply of plastic bags for those who need them or who have run out.
- Food waste should be disposed of in one of the small black containers, again provided by the Council. It is collected on Tuesday mornings.
Drummond Place residents should not use the landfill containers situated in the neighbouring streets. These are reserved for residents of those streets only. Experience shows that people living in those streets who see waste being disposed of inappropriately are likely to contact the Council to complain.
Dates for collection of mixed recycling (surrounding streets only) and glass (all streets) can be found on the Council’s website.
Drummond Place is one of ten streets selected by the Council to take part in an experiment introduced in order to meet the complaints of residents who were opposed to the compulsory introduction of what are known as bin-hubs and to see whether an alternative system of collection could increase the recycling rate, which has historically been low in Edinburgh. Although introduced for a six-month trial period in October 2022, the new arrangements remain in place and are likely to do so for at least the foreseeable future. At the moment, however, the Council will not guarantee that they are permanent. It has also refused requests to extend the experiment to neighbouring streets despite being asked to do so.
For anyone who is not familiar with them, bin hubs normally consist of at least six containers, two for landfill, two for mixed recycling, one for glass and one for food. They thus take up considerably more space than the black containers for landfill we currently have. They are designed to be spaced no more than 50 metres apart. A photograph of a bin hub in East Claremont Street is set out [below]. [I can provide one].
While some of our residents may dispose of food waste on the compost heap in their garden, those who do not are encouraged to dispose of it by using the Council’s weekly collection. Apart from being environmentally friendly, the waste is converted into fertiliser and sold at a profit by the Council, thereby contributing to a degree at least to reducing Council Tax charges.
The experimental arrangements for waste collection in Drummond Place are subject to change from time to time as the trial progresses. We shall keep our members informed of any alterations as they happen.