Bin calendar changes - FAQs

Starting on Monday 14th October 2024, most Fife households will see a change to their bin collections. This is due to the introduction of a new single shift pattern for our waste service staff.

The new online bin calendars will be available from Tuesday 17th September 2024, four weeks before the change goes live. We encourage all householders to check your bin calendar for future collections. The calendar allows you to enter your postcode to find your bin collection days. It also offers the option to print out a handy calendar.

We want to deliver the best service possible. To improve collections, most households will see a change in their bin collection days starting on Monday 14th October 2024. This is due to the introduction of a new single shift pattern for our waste service staff.

The current waste and recycling service will still be delivered across Fife. The changes will offer improved collection hours for both residents and council staff. Bins will be emptied any time between 7am and 9pm. Bins will still be emptied 5 days a week, Monday to Friday. 

The new arrangement gives people more time to get their bins out. It also reduces noise, providing a quieter environment for residents. In addition, the increase in new housing across the region and the extra travelling required means that the two-shift system is no longer practical.

It's important to carefully check your online calendar. Even if your collection day stays the same, the type of bin being collected (e.g. brown bin instead of grey bin) might change. A few households may not see any changes.

You should still carefully check your online bin calendar, as your collections may still change.

As a result of the changes, around 3,000 rural and hard-to-access properties will move from a landfill only to a 3-bin recycling system. This increases the number of households recycling and furthering our commitment to sustainability.

To find out more about recycling, visit our Household recycling page.

Paper copies of bin calendars are available for those without a computer, a tablet, or smartphone, or those who can’t use an online device, by visiting your local Customer Service Centre. Alternatively, consider asking a family member, neighbour, or friend for help.

If you are currently registered for assisted collections - whereby bins are taken out and returned, as well as emptied by our refuse collectors - this will remain the same, with continued support delivered.

Over 91% of households in Scotland have access to the internet. To reduce costs, we are encouraging local people to access calendars online. It is much more expensive to print and sort individual bin calendars than it is to mail out a general leaflet for Fife’s 188,000 households, covered by 150 different bin lorry routes/ schedules.

Please make best use of the space in your recycling bins by squashing and flattening items as much as you can. If you have excess recycling, you can visit your local recycling point.

Our recycling centres also remain open as usual.

We have processes in place to pick up extra waste caused by the change in your bin collection day.

• Blue bin - up to two bags of waste will be collected alongside blue bins on the weeks of 14th to 26th October
• Green bin - up to two bags of cans and plastics will be collected alongside green bins on the weeks of 14th to 26th October, or the first collection of your green bin after the changeover
• Grey bin - up to two bundles of paper and cardboard will be collected alongside grey bins on the weeks of 28th October to 8th November, or the first collection of your grey bin after the changeover
• Brown bin - please see your new bin calendar for your next scheduled collection of your brown bin. If you have any concerns about excess food waste, please place this in your blue landfill bin

Please try to use your kerbside bins, where possible. You can take large items to our recycling centres.

You can also book a free bulky uplift. This service is for items too big to fit into a wheeled bin and cannot be transported to one of our recycling centres.

From Friday 4th October to Monday 14th October, this option will be temporarily suspended. This is because the bulky uplift system is being updated so that collections are aligned with the new kerbside bin collections. Bulky uplifts will be available to book from 15th October onwards.

As part of a campaign to raise awareness of the changes to bin collections, a Fife-wide door drop is taking place. Every household in Fife should receive a leaflet. Even if you do not receive a leaflet, residents should still check their calendar at www.fife.gov.uk/bincalendar in case of any changes.