From today (Monday 14 September 2026), Aberdeen residents can apply for a free one-tonne community salt bag to help clear icy roads and pavements in their neighbourhoods this winter.
Early applications are strongly encouraged, as the team responsible for delivering the salt is also tasked with the city's wider gritting operations.
The deadline for applying for the one-tonne community salt bags is Sunday 25 October 2026 after which applications will not be processed due to the additional demand this places on the service at this busy time of year.
The scheme is designed to help communities help themselves when winter starts and in addition, there will again be big community salt bins in strategic locations around the city.
Aberdeen City Council chief offer operations Mark Reilly said:
The weather feels autumnal now so winter will be here before we know it.
โAs always, the Councilโs gritting teams will be working hard to treat roads and pavements, often under challenging conditions. On icy days, almost half of Aberdeenโs roads and theย cityโsย busiest pavements on Union Street are treated before 7.30am.
โUnfortunately though, Council staff can't be everywhere all the time. There are 620 miles of roads in Aberdeen, slightly more than the distance from the city to Paris, and 1,242 miles of pavements, the distance from here to Rome. Thatโs why the one tonne community salt bag scheme and yellow salt bins are so important โ they help local communities to help themselves.
The one-tonne community salt bags, like the salt provided in grit bins, will be for use only on public areas rather than garden paths. A secure and accessible area, like a driveway, would have to be available for storing the one-tonne community salt bags.
Any residents or groups which would like a one-tonne bag should apply via Gritting before 25 October. The community salt bags are delivered free of charge and are removed at the end of winter
There will also be big community salt bins again this winter and locations will be are Bridge of Don (Laurel Drive), Garthdee (Asda car park โ next to recycling facilities), Torry (Girdleness Road), Union Row, Crown Terrace (next to bins), Justice Street (next to recycling bins), Seaton Drive (car park on entry to Seaton Walk), Regent Court (car park), Northfield (Byron Square), Hilton (at the top of Anderson Road, next to Stewart Park), Rosemount (Leadside Road), Kingswells Park & Ride (next to recycling point and bins), Craibstone Park & Ride (west car park), Bridge of Don Park & Ride (next to recycling point and bins), Countesswells Road, Dyce (Asda car park-next to recycling facilities), Fernhill Drive (near Fernhill Road), Johnston Gardens North (at turning area), and Tillydrone (Pennan Road beside the library).
A total of 50 of the yellow 900 grit bins around the city will be trialled this winter with new, larger capacity bins which can be lifted by a lorry mounted crane or a telehandler when empty, allowing them to swapped out with full bins. This is a quicker process than the manual refilling of the 900 grit bins.
More information about gritting routes and winter maintenance from Aberdeen City Council is available from the webpage Gritting
