Stirling’s Councillors have adopted a new household waste and recycling policy which includes a 100% concession scheme for the new Garden Waste Permit.

The £35 annual opt-in charge for garden waste collection will start on 19 April and will support the Council’s drive to improve its household waste collection services.

Residents in receipt of a council tax reduction will be eligible to receive their permit for no charge, along with those who receive a garden maintenance service.

A household with someone who is ‘severely mentally impaired’ may also qualify for the concession.

Almost 7,000 of Stirling Council’s householders will be entitled to the free service and will receive their permit directly.

Transparency

The new policy consolidates the current practices of the Council’s waste and recycling services to households for ease of reference and transparency. 

There are only four areas of current service provision which will change under the new policy (We will advise residents when these changes will apply):

  • A household of five or more, rather than a household of six or more, with excess non-recyclable can apply for their standard 240L grey bin (general waste) to be swapped for a larger 360L grey bin.
  • Households with more than two children in nappies will now be able to apply for the non-hazardous healthcare waste collection service – an additional 240L grey (general waste) bin.
  • From April 2021, and once the current stock is depleted, the Council will no longer provide food waste caddy liners from Council buildings. Residents can put food waste in their caddy loose, line their caddy with newspaper or kitchen roll or purchase compostable liners from supermarkets or online.
  • As part of the current standard household waste and recycling collection service, contaminated recycling bins are not emptied. Whilst the Council would encourage contamination to be removed, residents can now request a chargeable uplift for a contaminated bin. 

Members of the Environment and Housing Committee approved the policy following a vote last week (11 February).

The policy reflects the changes to the Council’s Waste Transformation Programme that was approved by Councillors in June 2020.

Almost 70,000 new grey and brown bins have been delivered to households (as of 10 Feb) as part of phase one of the transformation.

Along with the policy, the committee report also includes a list of waste and recycling requirements for the public, such as container presentation times, contamination guidelines, collection of missed bins, assisted collections and bulky uplifts.

To view the report, the policy and guidelines, please click here to download the agenda papers.

A recording of the Environment and Housing Committee meeting is available to view on the Council’s YouTube channel