Welcome to our newsletter for Argyll and Bute Commercial Waste customers.
We’ve put together information that we hope will help save you money and, by working in partnership with the council, help Argyll and Bute meet climate change targets and protect its services.
Help us, help the environment
If you don’t already have a blue recycle bin, we’d urge you to talk to us about getting one.
We provide blue bins on long-term loan and you only pay for the service charge. This can work out at under £5.11 per uplift for a 240 litre blue bin. Our commercial waste team can guide you through this.
If we all recycle more, the less the council spends on processing black bag waste. That leaves more for other services that matter to you. We appreciate all your efforts to date, and together we can do more for our environment and our future.
Stay legal – what you must recycle
Waste (Scotland) Regulations require that any and all organisations in Scotland present the following materials for recycling:
- Metal (including cans, tins and aerosols)
- Plastic (including, drinks bottles and rinsed, empty food containers)
- Paper and cardboard, including newspaper, magazines and envelopes
- Glass (including drinks bottles and rinsed, empty food jars). Please note, not all areas have this service.
You can download a poster from our website for your business to remind staff what they can and should recycle.
Recycle Responsibly
Did you know - recycled goods are sifted manually when they reach the recycling plant? That’s why it’s important you clean and dry items before they go into your blue recycling bin and never put sharp objects into the recycling. Please put lids inside cans and help keep our sorters safe.
Scotland’s deposit return scheme
Scotland will introduce a deposit return scheme in October 2027. Customers buying drinks in a single-use container will pay a deposit they get back when they return the empty bottle or can. This applies to PET plastic, steel or aluminium containers. The scheme is regulated by SEPA.
Waste Audit... check your invoice
We want to make sure that you’re getting the service you’ve signed up for, so we’re carrying out an audit.
Please check that the information on the invoice is correct – itemised bin size, type of waste and how often the bin is uplifted. If you don’t tell us about changes to your services straight away, we may not be able to back-date any refunds.
Contact us if there are any questions or changes or visit our dedicated webpages.
We will also make spot-checks with customers to ensure your service matches the bins you are using.
Beware of combustion
Please don't, under any circumstances, put potentially flammable items in your wheelie bins. They could go on fire in your bin, or in one of our bin lorries.
- Batteries can be recycled safely at shops selling batteries or at our civic amenity sites.
- Marine flares - please contact your nearest marina or visit the UK Government website for guidance on disposal providers
Be a good neighbour
It’s important we look after our local communities, the people and the environment. We can all do our bit to make sure where we live is safe to move around in, and it looks tidy and inviting.
Please don’t block pavements or pathways either in storing your bin(s) or presenting them roadside for uplift, mainly because:
- An obstruction, such as a bin, forces people with pushchairs or mobility issues to go on the road
- Bins and/or bags left unattended for long periods are likely to attract vermin
- Bins can get overturned or damaged, it looks unsightly, and dirty bins with contaminated waste can cause foul odours if not cleaned regularly
Taking care of your bin
You own your general waste bin, so it’s important you take care of it otherwise you will be charged for a replacement.
The best way to take care of your bin is not to overload it. The bins are robust, but they do come with a manufacturers’ weight-load limit. Here’s a reminder of capacity to weight-load:
| Bin size | Weight Limit |
|---|---|
| 240 litre | 96 kg |
| 660 Iitre | 264 kg |
| 1100 litre | 440 kg |
We do reserve the right not to lift bins which are overloaded or overflowing for safety reasons. They could damage the lifting machinery and possibly fall into the vehicle when being emptied. This would delay the rest of our bin run and be a health and safety issue for our staff.
Oil your bin wheels every now and again. This keeps them moving freely, allowing you to move them easier and makes them less likely to get damaged. Please clean your bin regularly. Congealed rubbish at the bottom reduces capacity.
Missed bins
Throughout Argyll and Bute, we lift around three million bins a year. We do our best, but sometimes extreme weather or a breakdown means we can’t lift your bins when we intended.
If we miss your bin collection, please visit our website at www.argyll-bute.gov.uk. At the bottom of our Home page there is a link 'Read the latest service disruptions'. This gives real time updates on any issues with bin collections.
Please leave your bin presented for 48 hours and if still not emptied, contact our customer service centre on 01546 605514 and report it as a 'Missed Bin', You should be able to get an update on when to expect this to be serviced.
Remember contaminated bins won’t be emptied, so please remove any inappropriate items and leave for the next collection. Also, please leave your bins at the correct collection point.
And finally, some numbers
We have 4526 commercial waste customers across Argyll and Bute region – thank you for your business.
Every year you, our customers, produce over 62 million litres of general waste and almost 19 million litres of recyclables. This doesn’t include our domestic bin service. Our admin team is always on hand to help you with any queries or assistance you might need and the customer service centre is also available to help.
Email: commercial.refuse@argyll-bute.gov.uk.
Senior Clerical Assistants (Commercial Refuse): 01546 604527/604152
Use our online information to make an enquiry, or to cancel or amend your contract, find our terms and conditions, and much more.
