Report: Urban recycling in Scottish cities
5 February 2026
With communal collections typically having lower recycling rates than kerbside schemes, greater emphasis needs to be placed on improving communal collections by urban local authorities. The ‘Urban recycling in Scottish cities’ report assesses the barriers and challenges to recycling in flats with communal collections in Scotland, and the opportunities for improving them.
This research was commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland and delivered by experts from Resource Futures (working with technical advisors Dr Helen Holmes and Gemma Scott) to provide considerations on how the Code of Practice for Household Recycling could be improved.
Four central and interconnected themes, or enablers, that can promote and drive recycling best practice in these kinds of properties were identified through the research. These are access to convenient service; knowledge and communication; contamination, overflowing bins and fly-tipping; and responsibility for communal bin areas.
These themes were used to assess four urban areas in Scotland: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. These cities have varied recycling rates and distinct waste and recycling services. The report looks at how they compare to international best practice and adherence to the most recent Code of Practice (2016), based on engagement with local authorities and households with communal bins.
Most significantly, more robust waste data would instrumental to monitoring and evaluating interventions to improve communal recycling rates and cost-effective interventions.
