[1] On leaving university, Collins worked as a local authority planning officer and lectured at the Glasgow School of Art and Paisley College of Technology subsequently being elected a Member of East Kilbride Town and District Council (1973–79) and of Lanark County Council (1973–75).
Collins was also Socialist spokesman on environment, public health and consumer protection at the European Parliament from 1984 to 1989.
[2] In 1999, Collins was appointed chairman of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and subsequently re-appointed in 2004, holding the post until December 2007.
[3] An ambassador for the National Asthma Campaign, Collins has also served as honorary vice-president of the National Society for Clean Air; as vice-president of the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland and as honorary president of the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers.
Collins was invested with knighthood in 2003 for services to environmental protection and awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor from the University of Paisley in 2004.