Domestic Collection
When will my bins be collected? Request a new bin
Our kerbside recycling service is available to all households in Moray. Your green bin for household waste is collected every three weeks. Your recycling containers and brown bin will be collected fortnightly.
Please place the appropriate containers on the kerbside by 7.30am on the scheduled collection day. It is very important that they are presented on time as route order is subject to change at any time due to road works, crew changes etc.
We're already among the top local authorities in Scotland for recycling, but we’ve ambitious recycling targets to hit and we must send less waste to landfill. Recent household waste audits have shown that around 50% of the average bin contents could have been recycled, but instead ended up in landfill.
In 2016/17, we spent £1.8 million on landfill tax. If we recycle more, it’s better for the environment - and we’ll save your money!
We’re encouraging all residents to recycle smarter. To find out what can be recycled in which bin, visit our ‘What Goes Where’ page. Remember, if you have excess waste which can't be recycled and won’t fit in your green bin, it’s your responsibility to take this to your nearest manned recycling centre.
Please see our online bin collection calendar for collection days.
No, we follow the Scottish Government-backed code of practice for household recycling which sets out the weekly volumes of recyclable and non-recyclable waste provision we should facilitate for each property (detailed below) and switching to three-weekly green bin collections will still allow for this.
Paper/card: min. 40 litres per week
Metals/plastics/cartons: min. 70 litres per week
Glass: min. 20 litres per week
Food waste: min. 20 litres per week
Non-recyclable waste: max. 80 litres per week
Households which meet the eligibility criteria in our kerbside collection policy (PDF) may be entitled to a larger green bin, however most families which meet the criteria (see extract below) already have one - and submitting an application will not guarantee your household a larger bin. Please bear with us in the meantime as our customer service team work through enquiries.
"Where households cannot accommodate their residual waste in 1 x 240 litre bin due to the family size (6 or more) and/or with more than one child in nappies the 240 litre wheeled bin may be exchanged for a 360 litre bin. They must recycle fully using the kerbside recycling service and/or recycling centres and points. Additional recycling containers can be supplied on request. Failure to recycle fully will result in the larger bin being removed and replaced with a standard bin. An audit of the larger bin may be carried out at any time and annual checks are made to ascertain the eligibility."
Recent household waste audits have shown that over 50% of the average green bin contents in Moray could have been recycled, but instead ended up in landfill. By recycling more, you’ll have more space in your green bin.
Find out what can be recycled in which bin: www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_77339.html
Three-weekly collections will save £100,000 annually in operating costs, and by sending less to landfill our landfill tax bill will reduce.
We estimate that each year 4,400 tonnes of garden and food waste end up in landfill because they’re put in the wrong bin (green), but if put in the right bin (brown) we’d save almost £400,000.
Many local authorities have now introduced three-weekly non-recyclable waste collections, and have not reported an increase in fly tipping.
It should be noted that fly tipping is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The fixed penalty notice for fly tipping is £200, if you don't pay it then you may be prosecuted and risk a fine of up to £40,000.
We’re working hard to make sure that every household in Moray is notified of this change to three-weekly bin collections.
For example every household in Moray receives a council tax bill before the start of the new financial year - we’ve included information on the envelope to alert residents of the change, and we’ll continue with promotion through various channels until the implementation in June – and beyond.
Assisted Collections
If you're temporary or permanently disabled or infirm and are unable to place your bins and boxes at the kerbside for emptying, you may qualify for an assisted collection. Once you've applied for assisted collection, a form will be posted or emailed to you to fill out and return to us before we can provide this service. Please email us to arrange this.
Your assisted collection will not be affected by the change to three-weekly green bin collections.