Trade waste and recycling collections

We offer both trade waste and trade recycling services for businesses.

You can use the myAberdeenshire app to manage your collections:

• View your collection days
• Sign up for reminders
• Get updates about disrupted collections and return dates

What we collect

We collect:

• Paper, card and cardboard (blue lid bin)
• Metal tins, cans, aerosols and foil, food and drink cartons, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays (orange lid bin)
• Clear glass bottles and jars
• Green and blue glass bottles and jars
• Brown glass bottles and jars
• General non-hazardous waste

Please place non-hazardous waste only in your general waste bin.

View our waste collection and recycling leaflet (PDF 325KB) to find out more.

When we collect

You can choose to have your waste and recycling collected once a week or once a fortnight. Plastic, cans, and cartons are collected only once every three weeks.

You will be given a note of your collection days when your service starts. We will also notify you if any changes are made. 

Collections start from 7am on your scheduled days, although exact times may vary. Please make sure your bins are out in time, as we won’t return to empty them later.

The service usually continues as normal on local and bank holidays, but there might be changes over the festive period.

Occasionally there might be disruptions to bin collections which are out of our control, for example due to weather conditions.

If you can't use the myAberdeenshire app to manage your collections, contact Recycling and Waste team for help.

Bin sizes

We provide the following sizes of containers:

• 140 Litre wheeled bin (smaller than standard household size)
• 240 Litre wheeled bin (standard household size)
• 660 Litre metal bin with 4 wheels
• 820 Litre metal bin with 4 wheels
• 1100 Litre metal bin with 4 wheels
• 1280 Litre metal bin, same size as a bin at a Recycling Point

If you find your bin is not big enough to hold all your waste, please contact us to get a bigger or additional bin, or to discuss ways of reduce your waste.

Find out more about trade waste and trade recycling containers (PDF 337KB).

How to request a bin

To request a bin for trade waste or recycling, please contact trade.waste@aberdeenshire.gov.uk and give us the following details:

• Your name
• Company name
• Company address
• Company contact details: phone number and email address

We will contact you and send you the relevant forms to complete.

How to prepare your bins for collection

Please make sure we are able to access your bins on collection day:

• Collections start at 7am - please make sure your bins are out for this starting time
• Make sure there are no cars are parked in the way
• If the bins are snowed in, please dig them out, so our crews are able to empty them
• Make sure all items are inside the bin, any excess waste that is not contained inside your bin won't be collected (the exception to this is where we have not managed to collect your bin last time due to snow or breakdowns)

Tell us about any changes

You can change your collections at any time, but all changes must be confirmed in writing. The quickest way to do this is to email trade.waste@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.

If you fail to notify us of a change to your service you will be invoiced wrongly, and you may be in breach of the Duty of Care legislation.

You must also tell us if you sell, let, sublet, move or close your business.

Waste Transfer Notes

A Waste Transfer Note is a legal document and must be kept for a minimum of 2 years. It is needed when commercial waste is transferred and proves you transferred that waste to a company that is licenced to accept it. 

We email your Waste Transfer Notes every spring. You should sign and return them promptly every year and keep a copy for your own records. Failure to have a completed Waste Transfer Note is an offence. Please check it is correct, as your invoice is based on this information.

You are not required to use our service, although you and any waste management business you use must comply with all waste disposal regulations.

Payments and invoicing

Trade waste customers are normally invoiced annually, in advance. The annual invoices cover the period from 1st April to 31st March the following year.

Payment can be made by a variety of methods, including splitting the payments and paying by Direct Debit. Instructions are on the back of the invoice.

View the trade waste and recycling collection charges and find out how to pay your invoice. 

Further help

You can view our trade waste frequently asked questions (PDF 278KB) for more information about trade waste and recycling.

Contact

For information on trade recycling or trade waste collections, business waste reduction, reuse, recycling and regulatory compliance, please contact Recycling and Waste team.