Wednesday November 4th 2026
Councillor John McMillan (pictured left) during his visit to the Kinwegar Recycling Centre on Monday, 2 November where he met with Waste Services Officer Peter Moore (right) and Recycling Adviser Helen Reilly (centre).
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
East Lothian has recorded the third highest household recycling rate in Scotland, with new figures highlighting the benefits of changes to the council’s waste collection services.
A report presented to East Lothian Council outlined improvements made by its Waste Services team in recent years, including changes to collection schedules and initiatives aimed at reducing waste sent for disposal.
The county achieved a household recycling rate of 54.3 per cent, placing it third among Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
East Lothian was also highlighted as a UK leader for kerbside recycling, with contamination rates of less than five per cent.
The report credited residents who separate recyclable materials before collection, helping to improve the quality and value of materials sent for reprocessing.
Good recycling practices also saved the council around £1.5 million in disposal costs during 2024, while the sale of recyclable materials generates approximately £250,000 in annual income to support local services.
Since signing up to the Scottish Government’s Household Recycling Charter in 2016, the council has introduced a series of changes to improve recycling performance.
Weekly kerbside recycling collections were introduced across all households in 2021, followed by changes to general waste collections in April 2024.
Households now receive 17 general waste collections and 52 recycling collections each year.
Around 24,000 households also benefit from 24 garden waste collections annually through a permit scheme introduced in 2024.
This means some properties receive up to 93 collections every year, amounting to almost 4.4 million individual collections across the county.
The report also highlighted the volume of materials being recycled through different programmes.
During 2024, 3,296 tonnes of food waste was sent for treatment through anaerobic digestion, a process which produces renewable biogas and a nutrient-rich agricultural soil conditioner.
A further 4,371 tonnes of paper, card and cardboard was sent for specialist reprocessing, alongside 1,951 tonnes of mixed cans and plastics.
Some 3,157 tonnes of glass was also supplied to a local reprocessor, where it was transformed into filtration media used in water treatment systems.
East Lothian’s three recycling centres at Kinwegar, Dunbar and North Berwick record just over 500,000 visits each year.
The council also offers more than 9,000 bulky waste collection appointments to residents annually.
Councillor John McMillan, the council’s cabinet spokesperson for environment, economic development and tourism, praised the work of Waste Services staff and thanked residents for supporting the changes.
He said: “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.”
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