Bags & reporting
You've done the hard bit — here's how to make sure your full bags actually get collected. Getting this right means the council can lift your rubbish quickly and safely, so it's well worth a read.
Use the yellow bags
All community clean-ups should be done with the council's official yellow WLC-branded bags. These are the ones the West Lothian Council collection teams recognise and are set up to uplift.
You can collect a box of bags, free of charge, from:
Whitehill Service Centre, 4 Inchmuir Road, Whitehill Industrial Estate, Bathgate, EH48 2EP - open Monday to Friday, 9am-3pm.
Tying up and leaving your bags
Once a bag is full or too heavy to carry comfortably, slip off the hoop and tie the top in a secure knot. Then leave it in a spot that's safe and easy for the council van to reach - for example, beside a council street litter bin, or on a wide grass verge.
Please don't leave bags:
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Near junctions, roundabouts, blind corners, fast roads or slip roads - the teams can't safely stop there and will have to skip the uplift
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In council play parks, even where there's a bin - these are maintained by a separate team without suitable vehicles (except for Balbirdie Park).
Reporting your bags for collection
How you report depends on how many bags you've left.
Five bags or fewer, left at a council street litter bin: you don't need to report anything. Street Cleansing will collect them on their normal route, usually within one to three days.
Everything else (larger picks, or bags not left at a street bin): report them so the NETs team can arrange an uplift.
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You'll get an automatic reply containing a link to a short webform - with a map, a location box and a details box. This link is unique to your request, so please don't share it publicly; anyone else needing one just emails the address themselves.
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Complete the form, describing your bags as clearly as you can.
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The council can't currently accept photos through the form, so a good written description really matters. Include the number of bags and any loose or bulky items - for example, "20 bags and 4 wooden pallets on the grass verge outside…". Pinpoint the location as precisely as you can.
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Once reported, the NETs teams aim to complete an uplift within five working days.
Big finds like tyres, traffic cones or pallets won't fit in a bag — that's fine. Leave them neatly alongside your tied bags and note them in your description so the team brings the right vehicle.
Picks on private land
The council can't uplift bags from private, development or third-party land. If you're planning a pick somewhere like that, please arrange collection with the landowner first before you start.
Fly-tipping and hazardous items
Fly-tipping is different from litter and needs a different route. Don't bag it or move it — that can destroy the evidence the council needs to act. If you can safely do so, photograph it where it lies, then report it through the council's fly-tipping form. See our Reporting issues page for the link and details.
Hazardous items — needles, chemicals, anything sharp or suspect — should never be picked up. Vapes are hazardous electrical waste: if you collect them, bag them separately, mark the bag clearly, and tell the council. Our Health & safety page explains what to leave well alone.
Thor with a yellow WLC litter collecting bag. Used with kind permission by Nicola Campbell.