Recycling & Waste service win bronze for expanding trade bin service offering
Aberdeenshire Council’s Recycling & Waste Service won a Bronze Striving for Excellence Award from the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) after expanding the myAberdeenshire app to give trade bin customers immediate access to collection information in the palm of their hands.
The awards celebrate Scottish council services that go the extra mile for their communities, highlighting excellence in waste management, parks, fleet, and street scene services.
The new functionality makes Aberdeenshire Council the only local authority in Scotland currently offering app-based alerts for trade waste customers, allowing them to access:
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Detailed schedules including which bin will be collected next,
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The choice of an automatic reminder to put bins out,
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An A-to-Z of what goes in each bin,
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Notifications in the event of a missed bin including when it will be picked up.
Councillor Alan Turner, Chair of the council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, said: “I want to congratulate our Customer & Digital Services and Waste Service Trade teams for their fantastic collaboration on this project. By expanding the myAberdeenshire app, we are now providing our business customers with the same high-level of service as our residents. This user-focused upgrade meets both our operational needs and our customers' expectations, and it is thoroughly deserving of this APSE award.”
The myAberdeenshire app brings council services to your fingertips including bin days, school updates, winter maintenance, and a range of other council services right in your pocket and available to access on the move.
The winners were announced at the recent APSE Scotland Fleet, Waste, and Grounds Seminar 2026 in Aviemore.
APSE is a non-profit local-government network that works alongside more than 250 councils to deliver high-quality frontline public services across the UK.
The awards were sponsored by Econ Engineering Ltd and Farid Hillend Engineering.
Aberdeenshire Council offers trade waste and recycling services for businesses across the region and collects:
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Dry paper, card, and cardboard (blue lid bin)
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Metal tins, cans, aerosols and foil, food and drink cartons, plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays (orange lid bin)
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Glass (bottles and jars)—colour separated
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General non-hazardous waste
Customers can choose containers of various sizes and whether to have their waste and recycling collected once a week or once a fortnight. However, orange lid bins are only collected once every three weeks.
To request a bin for trade waste or recycling, please contact trade.waste@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
Download the myAberdeenshire app via Apple’s App Store or from Google’s Play Store.
Pictured: Moyra Stephen (centre left) and Mandy Crighton (centre right) on behalf of Aberdeenshire Council accepting a Bronze Award in the Waste & Recycling Category of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Striving for Excellence Awards 2026.
