The Highland Council Bin Collection Dates

The Highland Council covers a vast area of northern Scotland, making it the largest council area in the United Kingdom by land mass. The region includes Inverness, Fort William, Wick, Thurso, Nairn, Dingwall, Tain, Alness, Invergordon, Aviemore, Grantown-on-Spey, Portree and many other towns, villages and rural communities across Caithness, Sutherland, Ross-shire, Inverness-shire, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, and the Isle of Skye. The Highland Council is currently rolling out a new bin collection system across the area. Under the new system, recycling is split into two separate collections: a brown bin for fibres (paper and cardboard only, collected every four weeks) and a blue bin for containers (plastic bottles, food and drink cans, and glass bottles and jars, collected every four weeks). The two recycling bins alternate so there is one recycling collection every two weeks overall. Most Highland properties have now transitioned to the new system. General waste is collected in the black bin on a fortnightly basis. Food waste is collected weekly in a small food caddy. Garden waste is collected fortnightly in the green bin. In areas not yet transitioned to the new system, a single blue or grey recycling bin is collected fortnightly covering all recyclable materials. Your results will show the system that applies to your address. Collection days and schedules vary significantly across Highland given the large and predominantly rural geography of the council area. Some properties are on shared rural rounds where collections may arrive earlier or later than in urban areas. Bins should be presented at the kerbside by 7am on your collection day. Highland Council does not collect on bank holidays — check the council website for amended schedules around public holidays. Enter your postcode below to find your bin collection dates.

Collection frequency: General waste fortnightly. Fibres (paper/card) every 4 weeks. Containers (plastics/cans/glass) every 4 weeks. Food waste weekly. Garden waste fortnightly.