'Failure of basic services': 750 more cases of missed Glasgow bin collections

The city was branded an “absolute state” earlier in the year – and statistics now show there were 750 more reports between April and September this year than in the same period in 2018.

Across Glasgow there were 6174 reports of missed bins, compared to 5412 in the previous year.

Residents, parks workers and councillors all hit out at the condition of the city.

However, a Glasgow City Council spokesman said the rise was due to new collection arrangements. He said there had been improvements over the past two months.

Figures for each council ward reveal Partick East/Kelvindale was the worst-hit area, with 532 reports, almost 300 more than in 2018.

Local councillor Tony Curtis, and his Tory colleague Kyle Thornton, asked Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, to say sorry to residents who were impacted, during a full council meeting in September.

But she ignored their request, choosing to thank residents for their patience instead.

“Parks across the city were in an absolute state, there were people who waited seven or eight weeks for their bins to be emptied,” Mr Thornton said. “This is a failure of basic services in the city.”

Mr Curtis said bin collections are “the first thing we need to get right”.

Second on the list for missed bin reports was Pollokshields, with 514, up from 363. Langside was third as residents reported missed bins on 486 occasions, an increase of 229.

In Hillhead, there were 471 reports between April and September, compared to 251 in the previous year, and, in Govan, there were 389 reports. However, that was just two more than in the same period in 2018.

READ MORE: Blast over ‘mess’ in Glasgow as cuts see council bin staff absence rates soar

Southside Central had 324 reports, up from 195, and Victoria Park had 321, rising from 293. Garscadden/Scotstounhill residents report missed bins 317 times, however that was down from 322 during the year before.

The Canal ward had 306 reports, increasing from 276, and Anderston/City/Yorkhill had 284, up from 235.

Five more wards – Dennistoun, Linn, Shettleston, Springburn/Robroyston and Baillieston – saw increases in the number of reports.

However, another seven wards did see a fall in reports. These were Greater Pollok, Maryhill, Drumchapel/Anniesland, Cardonald, Newlands/Auldburn, East Centre and North East.

Fed-up workers at the council spoke out in May, claiming the city’s parks were being neglected as staff were having to help the cleansing team with bin collections and bulk uplift.

And Labour councillor Paul Carey said sick days for council waste collection staff were at “an all-time high” due to the pressures.

“The cleansing department has been cut and the city as a whole is a complete mess,” he said.

His colleague Matt Kerr said over the summer “every elected member I know would have been inundated with complaints about the standards of service”.

Earlier in September, a GMB representative, who works for the council, posted a video online, from an overflowing back court, where he claimed the service was in crisis.

In response, Thomas Kerr, Tory leader in Glasgow, said: “The SNP have presided over a summer of chaos resulting in bin collections being missed, grass being uncut and our parks falling into disrepair.”

Ms Richardson admitted “high levels of absence over the summer led to operational decisions to prioritise cleansing services over grass cutting”.

She argued a new neighbourhood model, which sees the same team allocated the same route every collection day, had been introduced, saying new systems “require a period of adjustment for everyone, including residents”.

And the council spokesman reiterated this response.

“These figures refer to when we were introducing new arrangements that see bins collected every eight and sixteen days, depending on the type of waste that is being uplifted,” he said.

“This new system matches the four on/four off shift cycle of cleansing staff and means the same staff will collect the bins on a particular street every time.

“The aim is that staff have a stronger connection to the areas they service and may help residents become more familiar with the teams that work for them, which can make it easier to deal with any issues that might arise.

“Since the introduction of these arrangements we have been working hard to fine tune the new system to make it as effective as possible.

“Over the past two months we have seen positive improvements in the service and the number of missed bin inquiries has reduced significantly.

“We understand the frustration that a missed bin collection can cause.

“We make over 21million household waste collections each year and a tiny percentage of collections are missed overall.”

Statistics on missed bin reports for the Calton ward were not available.