New charge for request to uplift contaminated bins or bins not put out for collection

Each year the Council collects 6.4 million wheeled bins across South Ayrshire. Unfortunately, some residents forget to put their bins out on time, or place the wrong items in bins, which means we are unable to uplift them on the scheduled collection day.

Every week we make return trips to properties across South Ayrshire, collecting an average of 217 non-presented or contaminated bins - that's an additional 11,217 journeys over the course of the year. During the 2020 festive period alone there were around 500 cases of non-serviced bins for these reasons.

To help overcome this, we will soon introduce a fee for requests for us to return to collect bins which residents forgot to put out or which were contaminated.

This means that if you don't put your wheeled bin out at the right time, or if your bin contains the wrong materials, you'll be charged £25* if you ask us to come to collect it before your next scheduled collection day.

To make sure you remember to put your bins out on time, you can access your bin calendar via our website, or by downloading our bins and recycling app, SAC MyBins. If you download the app, you can even set handy reminders to make sure you never miss a collection date again! If you're unsure what items can go in each bin, full guidance is also available on both channels. 

A comprehensive FAQ is available on our website which should help to answer any questions you have about the new charges.

South Ayrshire Council's Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor Ian Cochrane said: "Our Waste Management team collect waste and recycling the length and breadth of South Ayrshire, from Barassie, Troon, to Finnart's Bay, Ballantrae - an impressive 476 square miles!

"They regularly respond to high volumes of reports for non-presented and contaminated bins, resulting in additional journeys and pressure on staff.

"We want to ensure residents receive the best possible service, reduce our carbon footprint and meet our recycling targets of 70% by 2025. The new £25 charge to return to collect wheeled bins will ultimately help us to achieve this.

"It's vital that we all play our part in helping to tackle the climate crisis and disposing of our domestic waste correctly is a really simple way to get involved. We're therefore asking residents to do their bit and make that extra effort to ensure bins contain only the correct materials and are presented at the right time."

To find out more information, please visit our website at: www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/report-missed-bin 

The SAC MyBins app is available for download from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

*Where residents request a bin uplift prior to their next scheduled collection date, a charge of £25 for each different colour of bin, per week will apply.