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Midlothian bin collection days

Midlothian's grey bin is for some rubbish that cannot be recycled, including nappies, polystyrene and broken glass. The blue bin is clean plastics, cans and cartons. Paper and card are a green bin, glass is a box, food is a caddy and garden waste is a brown bin. The bin pages do not state one frequency; they send you to your collection day. A missed wheelie bin should have been out by 6:30am.

Last checked against 3 sources (www.midlothian.gov.uk).

Service disruption

Bad weather: only report a miss if other bins in the street were emptied. Clear snow from the bin and a path to it. Strike days move the collection to the next scheduled date.

This can change quickly. We last checked on ; the council’s own page has the latest.

What goes in each bin

Grey bin for some materials that cannot be recycled · General waste

Bin · Varies by area, so check your address

Yes please

  • Black sacks, bubble wrap, cat litter, cling film and crisp packets
  • Chocolate and biscuit wrappers, broken glass, nappies and personal hygiene products
  • Polystyrene, Pyrex, used tissues, kitchen towel and plastic films

Not in this one

  • Commercial waste, hazardous waste, garden waste and rubble
  • DIY waste, hot ashes, gas canisters, fireworks, electricals and textiles
  • Items the council already collects for recycling at the kerbside

Source: www.midlothian.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Blue bin for plastics, cans and cartons · Mixed recycling

Bin

Yes please

  • Clean dry plastic food and drink packaging, bottles with lids, tubs, pots, trays and punnets
  • Food tins, drink cans, large biscuit tins, aerosols, foil and Tetra Pak cartons

Not in this one

  • Paper, card and cardboard, which go in the green bin
  • Soft plastic, hard plastic, toothpaste tubes, nappies and contaminated packaging, which go in the grey bin
  • Food, which goes in the caddy, glass bottles and jars, which go in the glass box, and garden waste, which goes in the brown bin
  • Anything in a plastic bag, plus batteries, vapes and electricals

Source: www.midlothian.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Green bin for paper, card and cardboard · Paper and card

Bin

Yes please

  • Paper, card and cardboard

Not in this one

  • The blue bin page says plastics, cans and cartons stay in the blue bin

Source: www.midlothian.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Check your bin day

Use Midlothian’s own page for your bin day

The council's bin collection date finder needs a browser, which BinWeek's lookup service does not run, so the page links to the council's own finder.

Find my bin day on www.midlothian.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)

Set your own bin day

These dates are the ones you enter. BinWeek does not get them from Midlothian. Check them on the council’s site (opens in a new tab) (www.midlothian.gov.uk).

Grey bin for some materials that cannot be recycled · General waste
Blue bin for plastics, cans and cartons · Mixed recycling
Green bin for paper, card and cardboard · Paper and card
Glass recycling box · Glass
Food caddy · Food waste

Add to calendar

A private calendar link for the pattern you entered, with an alert at 6pm the evening before. The link contains those days. BinWeek does not keep a copy, and anyone with the link can see them.

Email me the night before

You can still add these days to your calendar.

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for Midlothian
BinCollected
Grey bin for some materials that cannot be recycled · General wasteVaries by area, so check your address

Garden waste

Garden waste arrangements vary across the area. The blue bin page says garden waste goes in the brown bin. The grey page says garden waste does not go in the grey bin. Neither page states a frequency or a price. A missed brown bin needs a valid collection sticker.

Source: www.midlothian.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

If your bin was missed

If a grey, green, blue or brown bin was not emptied by 3pm, report it by 5pm the next working day and leave it at the collection point. It must have been out by 6:30am, with the right materials, lid closed, not overfilled, not broken, and a brown bin needs its sticker. The council aims to return within 5 working days and may check the tracker and CCTV. A tag means take it back, remove the wrong items, and wait for the next day. Food caddies and glass boxes are not returned for early: they wait until the next scheduled collection. Let the council know by 5pm on the next working day.

Source: www.midlothian.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Good to know in Midlothian

  • Broken glass and Pyrex go in the grey bin. Glass bottles and jars go in the glass recycling box, not the blue bin. That split is easy to get wrong.
  • The blue bin wants items loose, not in bags. There is no need to squash them. Paper and card are refused there and named for the green bin. Soft plastics and nappies are named for the grey bin.
  • Food and glass containers that are missed are not collected early any more. The missed page says the crew will come on the next scheduled day. Wheelie bins are different: the aim is a return within 5 working days if they were out by 6:30am.
  • Roadworks and badly parked cars are recorded so you do not have to report them. Leave the bin out. If the return visit is still blocked, it waits until the next scheduled date.
  • Assisted collections can fail because of locked gates, overgrown plants, dogs, parked cars or an icy path that has not been treated. The retry is the next scheduled day, not an extra visit.
  • A brown bin needs its collection sticker or it is not treated as missed. The pages read do not say what the sticker costs.

Bin questions in Midlothian

How often does Midlothian empty the grey bin?

The grey bin page does not say. It says to find your collection day. The blue bin page says to check your collection dates. Neither page gives a weekly or fortnightly figure.

What time should a Midlothian bin be out?

By 6:30am on the scheduled day, at the right point, lid closed. If it is still there at 3pm, you can report it until 5pm the next working day. The aim is a return within 5 working days.

Which bin is for paper in Midlothian?

The green bin. The blue bin is plastics, cans and cartons, and its no-list sends paper, card and cardboard to the green bin. Glass bottles use the glass box.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils