Save Gull Proof Sacks

City of Edinburgh Council are threatening to ruin the beautiful streetscapes of our New Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.

WITHOUT planning permission and with NO consultation with local residents or heritage organisations, in April 2021 the Council decided to SCRAP gull proof bags & recycling boxes, and replace them with 8m-long fixed bin hubs of 7 large bins, every 100 metres throughout the New Town.

Councillors avoided their own statutory processes, pushing the decision through without the required Environmental or Economic Impact Assessments.

Gull proof bags and recycling boxes in the New Town are responsibly set out and cleared away by residents. On the street for a matter of hours, they have no permanent effects on the streetscape.

Large fixed BIN HUBS will be permanent eyesores, attract vermin and inevitably result in fly tipping. The Council claim emptying gull proof bags causes injuries and that bin hubs will increase recycling. But Freedom of Information responses do not provide the evidence to support their arguments.

This vote can be overturned. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Our long-standing system of gull proof bags & recycling boxes is efficient, clean, quick and quiet. It’s a system that was designed by the Council specifically for Edinburgh's New Town. It’s a system that has successfully protected our iconic streetscapes for nine years and been adopted by Bath, another World Heritage Site.

UNESCO is looking closely again at Edinburgh’s status. The Council is ignoring this threat, ignoring residents’ wishes and ignoring their own procedures in trying to bulldoze this decision through.

Our current collection methods must continue. New Town residents are campaigning to safeguard our World Heritage Site.

Join us and help protect our beautiful, iconic streetscapes.

Visit www.savegullproofbags.org and JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN!

DONATE TO OUR CAMPAIGN! WRITE TO YOUR COUNCILLORS!