East Lothian garden waste brings in nearly £1m in collection fees

East Lothian’s paid garden-waste collection scheme generated just under £1 million for the council last year, with uptake double the initial expectations. The council introduced charges three years ago across the county, and a new report says participation has remained high: nearly half of households pay for brown-bin collections every two weeks. When the fee was set at £40 in July 2024, officials expected about 12,000 households to sign up, but almost 24,000 did. The report estimates participation will stay around 24,000, bringing about £960k in 2026. It also links the success of recycling to low contamination levels—under 4%—which adds roughly £250,000 annually to council revenues.