The East Ayrshire Council Cabinet meeting on 12 November 2014 approved our customer charter which details the service you can expect from us and what is expected from you.
Household recycling charter for Scotland
The Scottish Government in its efforts to ensure waste is seen as a valuable resource, introduced the Household Recycling Charter for Scotland. This Charter is designed to establish a more consistent and uniform approach to how waste is captured for recycling across Scotland.
As a signatory to the Household Recycling Charter, we successfully bid for funding in excess of £2M to introduce a recycling trolley collection system during 2018. The recycling trolley not only complies with Charter requirements, but enables us to provide a weekly collection service for paper and card, plastics and cans, glass alongside food waste in the vehicles currently used for food and plastic collections only.
Your weekly collection services
The weekly collection service you can expect from us:
- We will provide householders with clear information and support on the services and the bins/containers they can expect to receive. This information will be made available on our website.
- We will provide householders with a regular collection and provide a calendar explaining the collection schedule for your area.
- Householders who wish to recycle their garden waste in their brown bins must purchase a garden waste permit per bin. The service applies to council tax rated domestic properties only. Only customers assigned to a Council brown bin collection route are eligible to apply to the Chargeable Garden Waste Collection Service. The Garden Waste Collection Service charge is for grass cuttings, small twigs and branches, leaves, cut flowers, houseplants, weeds, hedge clippings, sawdust, bark and hay.
- We will provide a reliable collection service ensuring that we visit your property when we say we will. We will only deviate from this in exceptional circumstances outside our control, for example as a result of extreme weather events.
- When we cannot provide the service as planned you will be advised on our website, through local newspapers, social media or radio.
- If we miss your collection and you notify us within 24 hours of the service failure we will return within 2 working days to complete the collection. A container will not be deemed as missed until the end of the working day.
- We will consider the following special requests from householders:
- Additional or larger bins/containers: for recycling bins/boxes this request will generally be granted however for non-recyclable material the household must be fully participating in the kerbside recycling schemes and complete a waste diary and audit before a request for an additional or larger container is granted.
Evidence has shown that when larger or additional bins for non-recyclable material are provided to households the recycling rate drops - resulting in a loss of recyclate material, increased landfill costs, and greater environmental damage. This is why only households that genuinely require a larger or additional bin for non-recyclable material will be provided with one.
- Assisted collections: When requested we will assess the householder for an assisted collection. This may be a permanent (subject to review) or temporary arrangement. This assessment will take place within five working days of the request.
- Missing bins or containers: If one of your bins or containers has gone missing please contact us as soon as possible to let us know. If the bin or container is damaged by us, we will action a replacement within five working days. If the bin or container has been damaged or lost due to negligence by the householder we may make a charge for a replacement.
- Requests for the above can be made via waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or by calling 01563 554400.
Please note that when you receive a replacement bin or container it may be new or from previously used stock. Any bins and containers we find beyond repair are recycled.
- We will design our collection services and train our staff to minimise litter and spillages. We will clean up any spillage from a container, bin or vehicle that is caused by a Council employee carrying out this service. If possible this will be carried out immediately; otherwise it will be carried out within one working day of the Council being made aware of the spillage.
- We will return emptied containers to their collection point in an appropriate manner.
- We will collect as many materials as possible for re-use, recycling or composting and explain what has happened to them via our website.
The Council recognises that householders must have confidence in the services they use and a key element of this is knowing that material collected separately for recycling is actually recycled. The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 have made this a legal requirement; however the Council will also provide information on how material has been sorted, or processed for recycling and composting.
- We will tell you in good time about planned changes to services:
- Any changes to your normal collection will be communicated in writing to the affected households at least five working days before changes are due to occur.
- We will advertise, through local media, social media and our website, any changes due to the public holidays at Christmas and New Year. This will be at least five working days in advance.
- We will respond to your enquiries as soon as possible and any complaints received about our service will be acknowledged as per the Council's Customer First Commitment. Complaints will be responded to in line with the Council's complaint procedure. In normal circumstances any action we believe is required will usually be completed promptly and within five working days of a decision being made.
What we expect from you:
- To treat our staff with the respect you would similarly expect in return.
- To present your bins (with handles pointing towards the roadside) and other containers for collection by 6.30am, at your designated collection points, on the required day. If your bin/container is not presented for collection by the appropriate time we will not normally return until your next scheduled collection day.
Additional bins/containers for recyclate are available on request. Should you require to place a bag of plastics/cans or a cardboard box alongside your scheduled collection bin/containers, this will be uplifted.
- To return your bin/container to your property as soon as possible.
- To think carefully about where you store your bins and containers to ensure they are not an obstruction or safety risk.
- To keep your bins/container in a clean and hygienic condition.
- To ensure the lids on your bins and containers are closed ready for collection and there are no additional bags of waste out with your residual bin.
We require lids to be closed to ensure the safety of our staff and reduce the risks of spillages and wind blown litter.
- To check local media and our website at holiday times, and on the rare occasions when extreme weather conditions occur, to ensure you are aware of any temporary service changes.
- To use the bins and containers provided for the correct materials to ensure the maximum amount of your waste is recycled:
- If your bin/container contains the wrong material, we will advise you by placing a sticker on the bin/container. This will not be uplifted. Any contamination must be removed and placed in the correct bin/container. We will then arrange to uplift the bin/container once we have been notified that contamination has been removed.
- Additionally, a face to face visit can be arranged by a Council officer to assist and advise the householder of correct use of bins/containers, with continued support if necessary.
The Council will take a firm approach on contamination. Recyclates that are contaminated with the wrong materials, or excessive food waste residues, are often rendered unusable and end up being landfilled.
Your bulky uplift service
The bulky uplift service you can expect from us:
- Collections will take place as soon as possible once your request has been processed.
- Uplifts will be restricted to normal household materials that cannot be fitted into a wheeled bin, for example, furniture, white goods.
- The charging structure is as follows:
- 1 to 3 items £15.93
- 4 to 5 items £29.21
- Any additional items up to a maximum of 10 will be charged at £3.49 each
- There is currently a 50% discount available for those in receipt of Council Tax Benefit and/or Universal Credit with the Housing Benefit Element - this will require to be verified via UC Claim Number with a copy of the section that shows Housing Benefit Element and your Council Tax Benefit Reference Number
- All of the above charges are non-refundable
- These costs will be reviewed annually
- Kitchen and bathroom units are chargeable per item at a rate reviewed annually
- We will not uplift black bagged residual waste.
- DIY and demolition debris such as windows, doors, garden sheds, bricks, slabs or builders rubble, trees, fencing, coal bunkers, storage heaters, asbestos and vehicle parts will not be collected.
- Larger items including those highlighted above can be disposed of at your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) or via the Council's skip collection service. Email waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or telephone 01563 554400. Please sign up for your Our East Ayrshire customer account, and once you have done so, access to HWRCs can be booked via our online booking system.
- We will separate as many materials as possible for re-use or recycling, which may mean more than 1 vehicle or visit is required to complete the uplift request.
What we expect from you:
- To treat our staff with the respect you would similarly expect in return.
- To have considered alternative uses for your unwanted articles before you request a bulky uplift from the Council.
- To specify all items to be uplifted in your request (only these items will be uplifted) and group them together in a safe and tidy manner at the specified location for collection.
- To ensure clear and safe access is provided at all times for articles to be uplifted.
- To protect the condition of your articles for uplift, to maximise opportunities for re-use and recycling and to make them safe for our staff to handle.
- Items may not be securely destroyed and you should therefore make your own precautions if items may be sensitive in nature.
The Council can only pick up the items that have been specifically requested in your uplift to ensure that only unwanted items are removed.