Revolt over 3 week bin collection plans in Glasgow
Petition for Council to think again about city-wide rollout
Last updated 4th Feb 2021
Glasgow city council is facing backlash over plans to collect general waste bins every three weeks.
The changes will roll out for front door houses in the north west from February 22, with citywide plans coming in the Spring.
Councillor Michael Cullen launched a petition calling for the council to halt proceedings.
He told Clyde 1: “We have to look at not just about reducing our waste provision for green bins as a way to force recycling, we have to increase our recycling capacity.
“The pandemic has changed everything - the rules and procedures we used as a justification over a year ago have changed.
“Our whole society was turned upside down over night, so this gives us an opportunity now that everyone is at home to see the waste we generate and have a conversation about how to change this.”
The north east of the city began the new three weekly collections in September last year as part of the initial trial.
Collection changes are for main door houses in an attempt to encourage recycling in the city.
Blue dry mixed recycling bins and brown food waste bins will be collected from kerbsides every two weeks, with the purple glass recycling bins collected every eight weeks.
Pressure on workers
GMB union have hit out at the council’s changes, with convenor Chris Mitchell saying the changes aren’t helping reduce waste in the city.
He said: “The evidence that we’ve seen, it’s certainly not working in the city. Some of the comments from people already participating in it, and they’re struggling.
“Some of these properties have got four or five in a family.
“What happens then is the side waste is left beside the bin, that then attracts vermin then in turn attracts rats and foxes, birds and everything else.
“Unfortunately, the impact on that is that our guys need to clean it up, so it’s double manual handling.”
This comes as a cleansing worker was sent to hospital last week as he was attacked by a rat in Drumchapel.
He continued: “There’s going to come a point where you say can’t provide a service anymore.
“If you keep cutting a service, but there’s still an expectation for the same level of work and productivity to be done, it’s impossible.
“Our workers are fighting fire with fire. It’s not until you’re in this environment and you actually see how bad it is and how bad it can get.
“Some of the conditions our guys face every single day are shocking, and the council need to take note of that.”
Council wants to boost recycling
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The new arrangements aim to encourage more recycling and will keep Glasgow in step with the national household recycling charter as well as an increasing number of other local authorities.
“These arrangements have been successful in other local authority areas and will help address a situation where over 60% of the contents of a general waste bin could be recycled.
“Early evidence from the introduction of the new arrangements for houses in north east Glasgow shows that three-weekly kerbside collections are working as we hoped they would, which is good for both the environment and the city’s finances.”
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