“"Over the last decade, the council’s Waste Services has been transformed to improve recycling performance and deliver efficient, sustainable services that support our wider environmental objectives. The team does outstanding work, completing around 12,000 collections every day to help to keep communities clean, protect public health and contribute to our commitment to tackling the climate change emergency. The service provision of delivering weekly recycling collections and three weekly general waste pick-ups is having a considerable impact on raising our recycling levels and lowering the amount of waste going to landfill. I’d also like to thank residents for their continued use and support of our recycling services and playing their part in helping to protect our environment."
East Lothian Council Hails Recycling Successes and Environmental Initiatives
New figures reveal the council is a UK leader in kerbside recycling, achieving high rates and significant cost savings.
By Kirsty Lennox
••3 min read
East Lothian Council. All Rights Reserved
East Lothian Council has reported significant operational changes and performance successes in its Waste Services, positioning the county as a UK leader in kerbside recycling.
New figures indicate that East Lothian is a UK leader among local authorities for kerbside recycling, with its collection system achieving contamination rates below five per cent. Elected members were informed that service improvements have helped the county attain the third highest recycling rate among Scotland’s 32 councils, reaching 54.3 per cent.
The report also highlighted the crucial contribution of residents who diligently separate recyclable materials before collection. This practice not only increases the value of materials within recycling markets but also bolsters environmental sustainability. The council estimates that good recycling practices by householders saved approximately £1.5 million in disposal costs during 2024.
Recyclable materials are sold into national markets, generating around £250,000 in annual income for the council, which is then used to fund essential services. Since becoming a signatory to the Scottish Government Household Recycling Charter in 2016, the council has implemented substantial changes to boost recycling and reduce waste sent for disposal. Weekly kerbside recycling collections were introduced for all households in 2021, and in April 2024, three weekly residual waste collections were implemented, reducing capacity from 120 litres to 80 litres and increasing participation in recycling.
Each domestic household receives 17 non-recyclable waste collections and 52 recycling collections annually. Approximately 24,000 households benefit from 24 garden waste collections under a permit scheme introduced in 2024. This amounts to up to 93 collections per property each year, totalling nearly 4.4 million individual collections.
The report also detailed successful recycling programmes, including the treatment of 3296 tonnes of food waste through anaerobic digestion in 2024, producing biogas for renewable energy and digestate for soil conditioning. Additionally, 4371 tonnes of paper, card, and cardboard were supplied for reprocessing, while 1951 tonnes of mixed cans and plastics were sent to a Material Recovery Facility. Another 3157 tonnes of glass were transformed into filtration media for water treatment systems.
The council’s recycling centres at Kinwegar, Dunbar, and North Berwick record over 500,000 visits annually, and more than 9,000 bulky uplift collection appointments are offered to residents each year.
Based on information from the official source: East Lothian Council (03/11/2026)
