Edinburgh recycling double the amount of glass during lockdown as recycling centres and bulky uplifts to reopen ‘in the near future’

The council issued an update to councillors about waste services in the city.

Rubbish tips are likely to reopen to the public when restrictions begin to be lifted by the Scottish Government

Rubbish tips are likely to reopen to the public following the relaxation of government guidelines with special uplifts of bulky waste due to restart “in the near future” as Edinburgh City Council begins to ramp up services it closed at the beginning of the pandemic.

The news comes as figures from the council show Capital residents are recycling twice as much glass than in normal circumstances after glass recycling was reinstated this week.

Council officers said: “Early indications are that we are collecting double the glass tonnage each day than would be collected under normal circumstances.”

Rubbish tips are likely to reopen to the public when restrictions begin to be lifted by the Scottish Government

In a briefing note sent to councillors, seen by the Evening News, officers have laid out plans for reinstating some of the waste and cleansing services which were stopped in mid-March.

Household waste recycling centres, which were shut following government advice at the beginning of the pandemic, are likely to reopen with some restrictions following expected changes in guidance from the Scottish Government.

The briefing note states that proposals being considered include two of Edinburgh’s three sites at Craigmillar, Seafield and Sighthill opening initially with the choice potentially determined by staff availability.

The type of waste being dumped would also be restricted to core garden, black bag, bulky and possibly cardboard waste, with staff assistance to customers restricted.

Social distancing measures including physical distancing, a limit to the number of people on site at any one time, and a one in one out policy are also being considered.

Special uplifts of bulky waste such as dishwashers and other white goods is to be reinstated “in the near future”, but a precise date is yet to be confirmed.

Booking forms will be available a week before the first collection, but assisted special uplifts where council workers enter a house to help remove the item are likely to be unavailable due to “the obvious risks”.

Green councillor Gavin Corbett said safety must be put first when looking at opening waste centres, but welcomed the move, saying it would help reduce any instances of fly-tipping.

He said: "Like all residents I'm hugely grateful to the waste staff for continuing to keep a service going in very difficult circumstances. I know some residents who are relieved that glass collections have returned, given their accumulation of beer and wine bottles over the last few weeks.

"I'm 100% with the need to put safety first when looking ahead to the waste centres and bulk uplifts resuming.

“That said, the quicker they can come back, at least in some form, then the more the risk of fly-tipping and street-dumping will be reduced.

“I've been pleased so far to see that people, on the whole, have been really understanding and responsible with waste, so let's keep that up for a bit longer."

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “Thanks to a huge effort from staff across the service, we have now resumed every kerbside collection stream, along with communal bin collections, with garden waste collections set to begin from 11 May.

“In line with other local authorities and following national guidance, our Household Waste and Recycling Centres remain closed to limit interaction between staff and members of the public and to discourage non-essential journeys.

“However, we are putting plans in place to make sure that, once we can reopen them, physical distancing can be maintained for the safety of workers and residents. We’re also planning for the reintroduction of bulky waste uplifts, once it’s safe to do this, and we’ll be sharing information on this as soon as we can.

“Fortunately, we’ve not seen a significant surge in fly-tipping over recent weeks, and I’d like to thank residents for holding on to their large items while we work to resume these services.

"The increase in glass picked up for recycling was inevitable since glass collections have been suspended for a number of weeks.

“This is sign that residents have clearly made the effort to avoid putting their glass in their grey bin and held onto it until the service started again and we're hugely grateful to them for doing so.

“We’re asking residents to please ensure they don’t overfill the boxes to protect our hardworking bin crews, or leave excess waste beside bins."