Lochaber waste and recycling service change
The Highland Council is now in the final phase of improvements to waste and recycling services, with residents in Lochaber set to receive the new service from September 2025.
To help improve the efficiency of the collection vehicles, specialist software has been utilised to map new bin collection routes in Lochaber.
Residents in Lochaber will receive a letter in the post next week which will explain what is changing and when.
The letters will explain the following important dates and instructions:
Step 1. Residents’ new bin collection day from 1 September 2025
Step 2. Extra bin collections that will be provided to some households during the rerouting transition period
Step 3. Residents’ new grey non-recyclable bin delivery dates and when existing blue and green bins will be changed over
Councillor Graham MacKenzie, Chair of Highland Council’s Communities and Place Committee, said: “I am pleased to see that residents and Highland Council businesses in Lochaber are about to receive the new and improved waste and recycling collections from September.
“As part of our ongoing strategy to improve efficiency of the waste and recycling collection vehicles, the majority of households in Lochaber will see a change to their bin day and this will be detailed in the letters. Some Highland Council Business Waste customers will also see a collection day change.
“In addition, approximately 4,700 households in Fort William, Caol, Corpach and Banavie will also receive new 140 litre grey non-recyclable waste bins and food waste caddies. The remaining households in Lochaber will receive 180 litre grey non-recyclable waste bins. All non-recyclable waste bin collections will remain on a fortnightly basis.
“We understand that this may be a lot of change and residents are urged to look out for their letters and to take a note of the important instructions and dates which are detailed about when the changes will be implemented.”
The Council’s Waste Aware Team will be providing help and advice to the public from next week and will be available at the Fort William Service Point, leisure centres, libraries and local shops to provide more information on the changes to waste and recycling collections and answer any questions the public may have.
The Waste Aware Team will also attend the Lochaber Agricultural Show on Saturday 23 August and will be with the collection vehicles from 1 September, to ensure the public present the correct bins.
The letters will also explain that green (or grey) bins will be used to recycle mixed plastic containers, metals and food and drink cartons. Blue bins will be used to recycle paper, card and cardboard only. Each of the recycling bins will be collected every 4 weeks.
Details of how and when residents’ existing blue and green bins will be changed, will also be provided in the letters.
A detailed booklet will be delivered with the new bins explaining the changes and what to put in each bin. A new collection calendar will also be provided with the details of the day the new collection service starts and which bin to put out.
Highland Council Business Waste customers in Lochaber will soon be contacted about their new collection day if it is changing. They will also receive a second email to tell them about the new twin stream recycling collections for their business and when their new recycling bins will be delivered.
The Highland Council received £7.1 million in funding from the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund to implement the changes to waste and recycling collections for communities across the region.
The funding includes the provision of all new non-recyclable waste bins to householders along with facilitating the expansion of the food waste collection service to another 30,000 households in the more densely populated areas of Highland, further enhancing the recycling services provided by the Council.
Modifications to the Portree and Caithness Waste Transfer Stations to help support the changes to the recycling services were also included in the funding award from the Scottish Government.
The Council has also approved capital investment in waste infrastructure with the construction of a new Waste Transfer Station in Fort William, along with a communications and engagement package to support residents with the changes to the recycling services.
Households are advised that the changes will be implemented according to the refuse and recycling collection routes, therefore not all properties within a town/area will have their bins delivered at the same time.
More detailed information will be available for householders on the Council’s website and social media including the programme of bin deliveries: www.highland.gov.uk/binchanges