Brown Bins

Garden Waste Permits

Applications for 2025/26 will be available from 14 April 2025.

Permits cost £52.75 per household (up to two brown bins per household) and will be valid from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026.

If you would like the council to collect your garden waste from your home, you need to purchase and display a garden waste permit on your brown bin. If you do not have a garden waste permit displayed, only food waste should be placed in your brown bin. If garden waste is placed in your brown bin and you do not have a permit displayed, your bin will not be emptied.

Please try not to compact the material in your bin, this can result in your bin being half emptied on collection day. If your bin is not fully emptied due to the material being compacted, or frozen together in winter months, it is your responsibility to loosen the material ready for your next scheduled collection. No additional collection will be provided for half emptied bins.

Apply for a garden waste permit

Permits cost £52.75 per household (up to two brown bins per household). Permits take up to 21 days to arrive.

You cannot buy an additional brown bin permit if you have more than two brown bins. As per our Service Standards you can have up to 2 brown bins per household.

You should apply for your permit by 9 May if you want to receive your permit by 1 June. You can still apply for a permit after this date, please be aware that the price will remain £52.75 and will still only be valid until 31 May regardless of when in the year the permit is purchased. You can read the full Garden Waste Terms and Conditions in relation to the scheme.

Residents unable to apply online can call the Customer Service Centre on 01506 280000 (Option 3 then Option 1) for assistance.

Apply for a Garden Waste Permit

Replacement Permits

Replacement permits are marked as such and are issued should your permit be damaged, stolen or you require a new brown bin.

Apply for a replacement Garden Waste Permit

Cancellation of Permits

You have 14 days from the purchase of your permit to cancel it. This is called the "cooling-off" period. If you are within the 14 day period, please complete the Cancel your Permit form.

Cancel a Garden Waste Permit

Once you have your permit

Attach your permit to the back of your brown bin, under the handles as shown in the short video.

We'll then start collecting your garden waste on your next brown bin collection date.

Your permit will be valid from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026.

If you do not purchase a garden waste permit, only food waste will be collected from your brown bin. If garden waste is placed in your brown bin and you do not have a permit displayed, your bin will not be emptied.

Paying for your permit

If you are paying upfront for your permit, this will be charged at the point of purchase.

West Lothian Council Housing tenants can choose to pay in the same way as they pay their rent. If you wish to make a payment towards your garden waste permit, you can do so on the Garden Waste Payments for Council Tenants page.

Your Brown Bin Payment is not part of, nor added to, your rent account.

You can pay your garden waste permit in the same ways as you pay your rent:

Pay Online at - Pay For It - West Lothian Council (opens new window)
Pay by phone- 01506 280000, Option 1
Pay Point- Just take your Garden Waste reference number to your nearest site. You can find this at consumer.paypoint.com (opens new window)