Six-week wait for festive bin collection branded 'unacceptable'

Residents in Glasgow face a six-week gap during the Christmas holidays when they wait for general waste bins to be collected.

Pavement wheelie bins due to be lifted on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and January 2 will be missed as Glasgow City Council focuses on flats, which make up most homes in the city.

Green bins due on Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be picked up on January 15/16, and for January 1 and 2 it will be January 22/23.

Blue and grey bins will be collected on 22 and 23 January for Christmas and 29/30 for New Year.

The changes have been branded “unacceptable” by a Pam Duncan-Glancy, Glasgow Labour MSP.

In a letter to city council leader Susan Aitken, she warned about environmental health implications.

She said: “The council’s decision to ask people in Glasgow whose collections will be missed over the festive period to leave their rubbish out on the next collection day, leaving people waiting up to seven weeks for collection, is completely unacceptable.

“The impact of this decision will be felt by everyone, but particularly those without cars or other means of gathering their rubbish and transporting it to the dump, meaning it will disproportionately affect older residents and disabled people.

“Rubbish piling up on the streets is not only unpleasant but is also a health hazard for both residents and cleansing workers.

“The council must explain what steps it is taking to address this issue for my constituents in Glasgow”.

Scottish Greens councillor Anthony Carroll said the move will “deeply impact communities with front doors.”

He asked what “mitigations will be in place to deal with the backlog of Christmas waste following the revision of wheeled bin collection dates to have a six week gap for general and recycling waste between Christmas and the New Year.”

Pointing out residents received a leaflet on the changes to kerbside collections, councillor Laura Doherty, SNP, said: “To effectively manage waste generated over this period residents are urged to use the full extent of the recycling capacity available to them for general waste, glass, food and garden waste where permit applies and options for recycling paper, cardboard as well as plastic and metal containers.

“In Glasgow almost 68 per cent of homes are flatted with houses or bungalows making up just over 31 per cent of the city’s housing stock. We are aiming to minimise the overall impact felt by the loss of service this year by focusing an additional effort on back courts and public sites where excess waste can build up quickly and cause environmental problems.”

The council explained it is to focus on tenement and blocks of flats which can see a bigger build-up of waste over the festive period.

A spokesperson said “We know that stopping bin collection services over the Christmas and New Year period can cause a lot of disruption for affected residents, especially those living in flats and tenements.

“We are aiming to minimise the overall impact felt by the loss of service this festive season by focusing additional effort on back courts and public sites, where excess waste can build-up quickly and cause environmental problems.

“To support this approach we are asking residents who are scheduled to receive a kerbside collection on any of the public holidays to wait until their next scheduled dates before putting their bins on the pavement for collection.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause for those affected, but residents can be assured any excess or build-up of waste will be removed on their next collection day. We hope these residents will make full use of their recycling bins and compact their waste as far as possible to make the most of their available bin capacity.

“Opening for our public waste centres will be also extended to help residents manage any build-up of waste over the holiday period.”