Thursday February 5th 2026
The provision of free waste bin liners is not a legal requirement
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Scottish Borders Council has run out of its supply of waste food bin liners due to a “significant increase in demand”.
Last month it was announced that as part of necessary financial savings, SBC was withdrawing the provision of free caddy bags.
It means that householders from today will no longer have access to the bags and will require to access alternative measures.
The withdrawal decision comes a decade after the introduction of the kerbside collection service.
The provision of free liners is not a legal requirement, and this change brings the local authority into line with many other Scottish councils.
The council delivered approximately 936,000 liners each year, and is “not able to sustain the ongoing costs in the current financial climate”.
The saving made with the withdrawal of the service has not been disclosed.
An SBC spokesperson said: “Householders in food waste collection areas are advised that following a significant increase in demand, our stock of caddy liners has now run out and we will now stop supplying free liners.”
Householders can now buy compost-able liners from local retailers or use kitchen roll or newspaper to line the caddy.
Alternatively, they can reuse plastic bags or place food waste loose into the caddy.
For further information see www.scotborders.gov.uk/foodwaste
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