South Lanarkshire Council • 2026 collection guide

SLC Bin Collection: Find Your Day, Schedule & Bank Holiday Information

Looking for your South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) bin collection day? Use the council’s official postcode and address search to see your household’s scheduled dates. The council also provides printable 2026 calendars for different areas and collection patterns.

Find the right bin, check collection rules, understand the Christmas and New Year arrangements, and work out what to do when an uplift is missed.

Find My Bin Day Missed Bin Help Holiday Collections

Quick Answer: When Is My SLC Bin Collection?

Your collection date depends on your address. Open South Lanarkshire Council’s official bin collections and calendar page, enter your postcode and choose your property. You can also download the matching 2026 area calendar.

Bins must be out before 7am. If a bin was due today or yesterday, do not report it immediately. The council advises that delayed collections may still be completed by the end of the next working day after the scheduled collection.

Official Postcode Lookup Download 2026 Calendars

Responsible authoritySouth Lanarkshire Council

Bin presentationBefore 7am

2026 calendarAddress and area specific

Missed collectionNext-working-day rule

How to Check Your SLC Bin Collection Day by Postcode

The council’s online collection service is the correct starting point for residents in Hamilton, East Kilbride, Cambuslang, Rutherglen, Lanark, Carluke and the wider South Lanarkshire area.

Open the official bin calendar. Visit the council’s Bin collections and calendar page.

Enter your postcode. Use the postcode lookup and select the correct address from the results.

Check the scheduled service. Note the collection date and the bin colour or waste type shown for your property.

Save your calendar. Download the appropriate PDF if you want a printed reference for the year.

Recheck when necessary. Look at the live council information if routes, service arrangements or holiday notices change.

Why the exact address matters: residents in the same town may have different collection weekdays. An area PDF identifies waste-collection weeks, but you still need your own street or address information to know the correct presentation day.

SLC Bin Collection Calendar 2026: Choose the Correct Area

South Lanarkshire Council provides three official 2026 calendar PDFs. There are separate calendars for East Kilbride/Cambuslang/Rutherglen and Hamilton/Clydesdale, plus a special Hamilton/Clydesdale version for households with a different food-and-garden collection pattern.

Calendar 1

East Kilbride, Cambuslang & Rutherglen

Use the relevant 2026 area calendar alongside the dates returned for your address.

Open calendar downloads

Calendar 2

Hamilton & Clydesdale

For households using the standard Hamilton and Clydesdale calendar arrangement.

View 2026 PDF

Special calendar

Hamilton & Clydesdale: Same-Week Pattern

For households whose food and garden waste falls in the same week as their general-waste collection.

View special 2026 PDF

Important: Do not switch to the special Hamilton/Clydesdale calendar simply because the dates look more convenient. Confirm which collection pattern applies to your property through the official lookup.

How Often Are Bins Collected in South Lanarkshire?

The council operates different collection streams. Its calendars display collection weeks for each bin type, while the live lookup identifies which schedule applies to your property.

Bin or service	Purpose	Scheduling guidance
Black or green	Non-recyclable household waste	Check the exact dates in your household calendar.
Blue	Paper and cardboard	Match the blue collection weeks to your address.
Light grey	Glass, cans and accepted plastics	Use the dates assigned to the light-grey recycling stream.
Burgundy food waste	Household food waste	The council states that food-waste collections operate every two weeks.
Burgundy garden waste	Permitted garden waste	Every two weeks during the 2026–27 permit service, except the Christmas/New Year suspension.

For example, a calendar might show blue recycling during one week and light-grey recycling during another. This does not mean every street has its uplift on Monday: the calendar week and your property’s collection weekday must both be correct.

What Goes in Each South Lanarkshire Bin?

Putting materials into the wrong bin can result in a rejected collection. The council uses a four-stream system for most standard household recycling arrangements.

Black or Green: General Waste

Examples accepted: plastic bags, crisp wrappers, polystyrene, non-recyclable food packaging, pet bedding and vacuum-cleaner waste.

Keep out: batteries, gas canisters and materials that require specialist disposal.

Official general-waste rules

Blue: Paper and Card

Examples accepted: newspapers, magazines, envelopes, office paper, cereal boxes, cardboard tubes and clean cardboard packaging.

Keep out: wet or greasy cardboard, tissues, nappies, drinks cartons and plastic bags.

Official paper and card rules

Light Grey: Containers

Examples accepted: glass bottles and jars, clean food and drink cans, aerosols, aluminium foil, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays.

Keep out: window glass, mirrors, Pyrex, plastic film, batteries, electrical items and gas bottles.

Official container recycling rules

Burgundy: Food and Garden Waste

Food: leftovers, fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, fish, bones, eggs and coffee grounds.

Garden waste with permit: grass, hedge clippings, leaves, plants and small branches.

Keep out: plastic packaging, soil, rubble, turf and animal bedding.

Official burgundy-bin rules

Fire-safety warning: Never put loose batteries or gas canisters into household bins. Batteries can ignite when crushed in collection vehicles, while compressed gas containers can explode. Use the appropriate battery or hazardous-waste disposal route.

SLC Missed Bin Collection: When to Wait and When to Report

South Lanarkshire Council asks residents not to report a bin that was due today or yesterday. A delayed bin may still be collected by the end of the next working day after its scheduled uplift.

Official reporting rule: If none of the bins in your street has been emptied, leave your bin out. The council advises that it will collect delayed bins as soon as possible. Do not submit an immediate individual missed-bin report.

Check These Six Things First

Was it the right collection day? Check your address calendar rather than relying on the usual routine.

Was your bin out before 7am? The council can change collection routes, so the vehicle may arrive earlier than expected.

Was the lid fully closed? Open or overfilled bins may not be emptied.

Could the collection crew reach it? Parked vehicles, blocked access and unsafe conditions can prevent an uplift.

Was the bin excessively heavy? Soil, rubble and other heavy materials should not be placed in household bins.

Was a rejection tag attached? A tagged bin generally requires corrective action before the next scheduled collection.

What to Do in Common Situations

Due todayAllow the scheduled and next-working-day collection window to pass.

Whole street affectedLeave the bin out and follow the council’s delay guidance.

Red tag attachedRemove the incorrect material and use the next scheduled collection.

Still missed after the applicable windowUse the official missed-bin reporting form.

Official Missed Bin Reporting Recheck My Bin Day

SLC Bin Collections on Bank Holidays and Public Holidays 2026

A council public holiday does not necessarily mean your bin collection has been cancelled or moved. South Lanarkshire’s public-holiday list applies to most council services and offices unless otherwise stated. Waste rounds need to be checked separately against your calendar and any live service announcements.

Official South Lanarkshire Public Holiday Dates

Holiday	2026 date	Collection advice
New Year’s Day	Thursday 1 January	Past date; check historical calendar if needed.
2 January	Friday 2 January	Past date; check historical calendar if needed.
Good Friday	Friday 3 April	Past date; not itself evidence of a changed uplift.
Easter Monday	Monday 6 April	Past date; use the property calendar.
Early May holiday	Monday 4 May	Past date; use the property calendar.
Spring bank holiday	Monday 25 May	Past date; use the property calendar.
Fair Monday	Monday 20 July	Past date; Lanark office exception applies.
September weekend	Monday 28 September	Past date; use the property calendar.
Christmas Day	Friday 25 December	Check festive collection instructions.
Boxing Day substitute	Monday 28 December	Check festive collection instructions.

The council identifies Thursday 11 June 2026 as the Lanark office closure for Lanimer Day instead of Fair Monday. This is an office-holiday distinction, not confirmation that any household bin route changed.

Holiday checklist: Check your property calendar, look for a current council waste notice and only change your presentation day if official information confirms the change. Do not assume an extra day’s delay simply because it is a Scottish bank holiday.

Official South Lanarkshire Public Holidays

Christmas and New Year Bin Collections in South Lanarkshire

The Christmas and New Year period needs particular attention because general recycling collections and chargeable garden-waste services do not necessarily follow the same arrangements.

General Waste and Recycling

Consult the live address schedule and any council festive-service announcement before putting your bin out. A previous year’s Christmas timetable should not be reused to predict the 2026 dates.

Garden Waste Permit Collections

For the 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 permit term, the council confirms a two-week suspension of garden-waste collections over Christmas and New Year.

If you have both food waste and permitted garden waste in a burgundy bin, check the published collection arrangements for your address rather than assuming the garden-waste suspension tells you the full food-waste timetable.

Check Festive Collection Calendar Garden Permit Rules

South Lanarkshire Garden Waste Permit 2026–27

A valid permit is required when you use your burgundy bin for garden waste. The council’s 2026–27 service runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Permit price£46.49 per bin

Permit period1 Apr 2026–31 Mar 2027

Maximum permits3 per household

Food waste onlyNo permit required

How to Get and Use a Permit

Register through the council waste portal. Use the official garden-waste permit service to apply and pay.

Buy one permit for each bin. The same £46.49 charge applies to either 140-litre or 240-litre eligible burgundy bins.

Wait for the sticker. The council states that permits are posted within 14 days. Use its enquiry route if yours does not arrive.

Attach the permit below the handles. Place the sticker on the back of the burgundy bin where the crew can identify it.

Check the collection schedule. Garden-waste collections begin once the valid permit is attached.

Important permit details: The full annual fee applies even when you join part-way through the permit year. Permits are linked to the registered property and cannot be transferred to another home. The council allows cancellation within 14 days of purchase for a full refund, subject to its terms.

The 2026–27 permit sticker is pink. The previous year’s yellow permit is not valid for the new permit term. Residents who only use their burgundy bin for food waste do not need to buy a garden-waste permit.

Apply for Garden Waste Permit

Free Food Waste Collections in South Lanarkshire

South Lanarkshire Council offers free fortnightly food-waste collections to households. If you do not already receive the service, you can request it online.

Following a request, the council arranges the burgundy food-waste bin and kitchen caddy where required and adds your address to the collection schedule. Flats may receive a shared food-waste container where individual bins cannot be stored safely.

The council advises that the service can take up to four weeks to appear on a collection schedule after processing, while bin delivery may take longer. Your collection begins once the bin has been supplied.

Useful distinction: Food waste is collected free. A garden-waste permit is needed only if you also want the council to collect garden material in the burgundy bin.

Request a Free Food Waste Collection

Why Has My South Lanarkshire Bin Been Tagged?

A red tag generally means the collection crew identified a problem with a bin’s contents. A bin with incorrect materials will not be emptied until the problem is corrected.

Contaminated Recycling

Remove items that should not be in the blue, light-grey or burgundy recycling container. Put them into the correct waste stream or use an appropriate recycling centre.

Overfilled General Waste

If the bin lid cannot close, remove enough material to close it. Extra bags left beside the container are not collected.

Damaged Bin

A cracked or unsafe container may not be lifted. Use the council’s damaged-bin service to request a suitable replacement.

More Than One General-Waste Bin

The council normally empties one black or green non-recyclable waste bin per household. Extra bins are not automatically serviced.

After resolving a tagged-bin problem, present the corrected bin on its next scheduled collection day. A rejection caused by incorrect materials should not be treated as an ordinary missed collection.

Official Tagged-Bin Guidance

Assisted Bin Collections for Residents Who Cannot Move Their Bins

If everyone in your household aged 16 or over is physically unable to move the bins and nobody else can present them, you may qualify for an assisted collection.

South Lanarkshire Council assesses requests individually. If approved, the crew can help take the bin to the kerb and return it after collection.

The route to the bin must remain safe. Icy paths, unrestrained pets, steps, slippery surfaces or other obstructions can stop crews from reaching a container.

Request Assisted Bin Collection

Household Waste Recycling Centres: Booking and Alternatives

South Lanarkshire residents can use council household waste and recycling centres for suitable materials, including excess household recycling and some items not accepted in ordinary bins.

Every vehicle needs an advance booking. Arriving without a booked slot can mean being refused entry. The council also asks residents to bring proof of their South Lanarkshire address.

Recycling Centres Covered by the Booking Service

Cambuslang & Rutherglen

Check accepted materials and book a vehicle slot.

Carluke

Confirm current hours and material restrictions.

East Kilbride

Book before travelling, especially with specialist waste.

Hamilton & Blantyre

Check entry rules and book one slot per vehicle.

Larkhall

Mattresses and upholstered seating are not accepted at this site.

Strathaven

Mattresses and upholstered seating are not accepted at this site.

Before You Travel

Book your visit online. Car slots normally last 15 minutes and van slots 30 minutes.
Take proof of address and ensure your vehicle matches the booking.
Book a separate slot for each trip or additional vehicle.
Check that your waste is accepted at your chosen location.
Keep children and pets inside the vehicle while on site.
Do not bring waste generated by tradespeople as household waste.

Mattresses and upholstered furniture: Larkhall and Strathaven do not accept these items. The council directs residents to suitable larger centres such as East Kilbride, Carluke, Hamilton and Blantyre, or Cambuslang and Rutherglen. Always confirm the material rules and book ahead.

Book a Recycling Centre Visit

Common SLC Bin Collection Problems and Practical Solutions

Problem	What to check	Next action
Postcode not recognised	Check the full postcode and property selection.	Retry the official lookup or use council contact guidance.
Neighbour’s collection differs	Street, property type and calendar pattern.	Follow your own address result.
Bin full before collection	Incorrect material or excess waste.	Sort recycling and use a booked recycling centre where appropriate.
Bin damaged	Whether it can be safely lifted.	Use the council damaged-bin request service.
Garden permit missing	Payment, postal delivery and sticker placement.	Use the council permit enquiry route.
Collection delayed	Scheduled date and other bins in the street.	Follow next-working-day guidance before reporting.
Holiday uncertainty	Property calendar and council festive notices.	Do not assume automatic collection-day changes.

SLC Bin Collection FAQs

What does SLC bin collection mean?

SLC stands for South Lanarkshire Council. The council manages household waste and recycling collection services across its local authority area in Scotland.

How do I check my South Lanarkshire bin collection date?

Open the council’s bin collections and calendar service, enter your postcode, select your property and check the date shown for each household waste stream.

What time must bins be out?

Bins should be presented before 7am on the scheduled collection day. Routes may change, so do not depend on the vehicle arriving at the same time every week.

Are bins collected on Scottish bank holidays?

A public holiday does not automatically cancel or move an SLC bin collection. Check the live property calendar and the council’s current operational notices for any confirmed change.

What happens to bin collections at Christmas?

Check the council’s festive waste instructions for household bins. The 2026–27 garden-waste permit service has a confirmed two-week Christmas and New Year collection suspension.

When should I report a missed collection?

If your bin was due today or yesterday, wait. South Lanarkshire Council advises that delayed collections may still be completed by the end of the next working day after the scheduled collection.

How much is the SLC garden waste permit in 2026?

The council’s 2026–27 garden-waste permit costs £46.49 per burgundy bin. A maximum of three permits can be purchased per household. Food-waste-only collections remain free.

Why was my recycling bin left unemptied?

Incorrect materials, an open lid, overloading, unsafe access or other collection problems can prevent uplift. A red tag indicates that the council found a problem requiring correction.

Do I need to book a South Lanarkshire recycling centre?

Yes. The council requires advance bookings for vehicles visiting its household waste and recycling centres. Check the booking rules, accepted materials and site information before travelling.

Official South Lanarkshire Waste Service Links

Use these council services when you need live dates, a booking, permit purchase or official assistance.

Bin collection dates and calendars
South Lanarkshire Council collection lookup

Missed-bin reports
Official reporting conditions and form

Garden waste permits
Permit costs, eligibility and application

Recycling centre bookings
Book a household recycling centre visit

Public holidays
Official South Lanarkshire holiday dates

Check Your Next SLC Bin Collection

For a reliable answer, use South Lanarkshire Council’s live postcode and address search. Save your household calendar, put the correct container out before 7am and check the council’s delay guidance before reporting a missed uplift.

Check My Bin Collection Day Missed Bin Reporting

BinCollectionGuide.org is an independent information website and is not operated by South Lanarkshire Council. Collection records, bookings, permits and service changes are managed by the council.