Last year, we explored the varying cost of garden waste permit costs across Scotland’s councils.
In 2024, 21 out of 32 councils charged residents for brown bin collections—a move aimed at recovering costs but fraught with inconsistency.
In 2025, that number has grown, and many councils have revised their pricing, frequencies or service periods.
This blog updates these 2024 figures and highlights the current 2025 figures showing a lack of unified national approach across Scotland.
What Changed in 2025?
New Charges Introduced
Two councils that previously offered free collection have introduced charges this year:
- South Lanarkshire Council: Introduced a £45 annual permit, effective April 1, 2025.
- North Lanarkshire Council: Introduced a £40 permit, beginning June 1, 2025.
This brings the number of councils now charging for garden waste collection to 23 out of 32.
Price Increases
Several councils raised their prices in 2025. Here are some of the notable increases:
- East Ayrshire: Increased from £30 to £40 (+£10).
- Renfrewshire: Increased from £40 to £47 (+£7).
- Dundee City: Increased from £45 to £47.50 (+2.50).
- Moray, Stirling, Angus, and West Lothian all saw modest increases between £2 and £2.75.
Changes to Service Frequency
Some councils altered how often they collect brown bins:
- East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire moved from weekly to fortnightly collections.
- Falkirk and East Ayrshire offer just 11 collections per year, with others ranging from 13 to 24.
Who Still Offers Free Garden Waste Collection?
Nine councils continue to offer free brown bin services in 2025:
- Aberdeenshire
- Argyll and Bute
- North Ayrshire
- Orkney Islands
- Scottish Borders
- Shetland Islands
- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Fife
Notably, Aberdeen City offers one free collection bin per household, but charges £30 for additional bins.
Updated Insights: Price Per Collection
Using updated 2025 figures, we recalculated cost per collection, which reveals the true value behind the permit:
- Falkirk Council has the highest price per collection at £4.09 (Average of 11 collections a year).
- South Ayrshire follows closely at £3.85 (Average of 8 collections a year).
- East Renfrewshire, which transitioned to fortnightly service, now has a lower cost per collection at £2.09 (Average of 24 collections a year).
- North Lanarkshire, despite introducing a charge, offers the lowest cost per collection: £1.60 (Average of 24 collections for a year).
These differences highlight just how varied and potentially inequitable the system remains across Scotland.
Seasonal Breaks Are Common
Many councils implement winter breaks, ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months:
- Highland Council: No collections between December and March.
- South Ayrshire: No automatic collection, request only between December and March.
- Falkirk: No automatic collection, request only between December and March.
- Others, like Glasgow, West Lothian, and Dundee, also pause services for 2–4 weeks.
While many councils pause garden waste collections over winter, some offer optional pickups during this time, usually by booking and often with an added fee. Others provide no winter collection at all, though some councils do offer access to recycling centres as an alternative. These differing approaches highlight the continued inconsistency in garden waste services across Scotland.
Price and Service Inconsistency Across Scotland
Despite the growing adoption of permits across Scotland’s councils the price and service received remains inconsistent:
- Annual costs range from £35 to £60.
- Collections per year range from 8 to 24.
- The per-collection price varies more than 2.5x between councils.
There is currently no choice for residents, and they need to sign up for the council service if they require it, irrespective of the cost!
If councils push the cost too high, there will then be an opportunity for a commercial operator to provide a lower cost service option.
Sustainability
Ultimately it would be more sustainable for residents to compost all their waste at home, and this would remove the need for a collection system. Most councils do mention home composting as an option but with only limited information provided. There is some excellent information such as https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/easy-guide-to-composting which could encourage home composting, but this potential remains largely untapped.
Moreover, limiting kerbside options may push some residents to use residual waste bins, increasing disposal costs (around £180/tonne) and further reducing recycling rates.
Looking Ahead: What to Watch in 2026
If current trends continue:
- More councils will begin charging as they see this as a key revenue stream.
- Fees are likely to continue to rise with inflation.
- Collection frequency may reduce further, especially during winter period.
Since charging schemes have been in operation for a number of years now it be interesting to see some robust research on the impact on recycling rates of garden waste and whether residual waste volumes have increased as residents divert small quantities of garden waste into residual bins. Charging schemes may provide a valuable revenue stream for councils, but if they work to the detriment of overall recycling targets then they may be counterproductive.
