Under the new system, a green household recycling bin will also be rolled out to residents for paper, card and cardboard.
Deliveries of the new bins are scheduled to take place during January and February, ahead of the service going live in March 2026.
As part of the changes, the council’s existing blue bins, currently used for mixed recycling, will be repurposed to collect cans, cartons, plastic bottles, tubs and trays only.
The newly introduced green bins will be emptied every third week, alongside grey general waste bins and blue recycling bins, which will also move to a three-weekly collection cycle.
Glass boxes will continue to be collected fortnightly, as will brown bins for residents with a garden waste permit. Weekly food waste caddie collections will also continue.
The council has warned that some residents may see changes to their collection days as the new arrangements are introduced.
A more ‘economically and environmentally sustainable’ system
Explaining the move, Midlothian Council said the revised system would improve recycling quality and make collections more efficient by “cutting the amount of material coming into contact with food residue” which can render them unsuitable for recycling.
In addition, the council said splitting paper and card from plastics and cans would enable further sorting to take place, allowing “a greater variety of packaging types” to be recycled.
As a result, a higher proportion of household recycling collected in Midlothian could be sent for reprocessing rather than disposal.
According to the council, the changes would support a more” economically and environmentally sustainable” service by increasing the volume of material recovered.
Cabinet Secretary for Community Facilities, Climate Change and Environment, Councillor Dianne Alexander, commented: “Everything we recycle helps conserve precious resources and means less energy is needed to make new products from scratch.
“By keeping paper and card separate and clean, we can recycle more of what we use and reduce carbon emissions.
“We know it’s a change, but if everyone gets behind this, it will make a big contribution to Midlothian’s journey to net zero, helping to assure a cleaner and greener environment for future generations.”
Letters outlining the planned changes are being issued to households, with further information to be published closer to the rollout via the council’s website and social media channels.
Support from Recycling Improvement Fund
The changes are being supported by a £2.3 million grant from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund.
According to the council, the majority of local authorities across Scotland are moving towards similar collection models in line with the Charter for Household Waste Recycling.
David Gunn, Recycling Improvement Fund manager at Zero Waste Scotland, added: “Zero Waste Scotland are proud to support local authorities to make improvements to their reuse and recycling services.
“The Recycling Improvement Fund empowers local authorities to influence lasting behaviour change, helping Scotland progress towards a cleaner, greener and more circular economy.”
Subscribe for free