CLEANSING workers have demanded Glasgow City Council put a halt to its three-weekly bin collection rollout.

GMB Union’s branch 40 has insisted the local authority reverse the changes, which are to be rolled out to main door properties in the north west of the city later this month.

The union is calling on residents to back their plight by responding to its official survey collecting opinions on the controversial system.

Branch convenor Chris Mitchell said: “Glasgow has a waste crisis fuelled by years of cuts. This incident with the rat attacking a cleansing worker is another example of the impact on its workers and the communities they serve.

“The city is in decline and workers in services like mine are totally demoralised.

“We cannot go on like this – the workforce and the public deserve better.”

He added: “We understand the importance of recycling but, we feel, the answer isn’t further restriction of services – it’s more investment.

“We will now ask the public to support a stop in moving to a three-weekly collection, no more cuts in street bins budget and a far better option for the foodwaste service.”

As previously reported, the council introduced a three-weekly collection pilot scheme in the north east of Glasgow late last year.

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It aimed to tackle the city’s staggeringly low recycling rates by encourage more use of the blue bin.

However, cleansing staff insist it is only increasing piles of waste dumped next to wheelie bins.

Councillor Eva Murray, depute leader of the Glasgow Labour group, said: “My inbox has been full of emails from frustrated constituents since information of this change dropped late last week and the consultation that I launched on Saturday has already received many comments from local people.”

It comes after a petition started at the weekend to reverse the move gathered more than 1,400 signatures.

A spokesman said: “The change to three weekly collections for green bins from houses is all about encouraging households to recycle more.

“The most recent figures show that Glasgow recycles less than 25% of its household waste and so we are facing a significant challenge if we are to meet a national target of 70% of all waste to be recycled by 2025.

“Research also shows that over 60% of general waste could be recycled and so it is clear that continuing to load up green bins as we have done as a city is not in any way sustainable. “The new arrangements are therefore about encouraging those who receive a kerbside collection to make better use of their bins and spread their waste more appropriately across all of their bins.

“Adopting three-weekly collections for general waste from houses keeps Glasgow in line with many other local authorities that have signed up to the national Household Recycling Charter.

“The council adopted the charter at a committee meeting in February 2019 with the support of all councillors present and this committed the council to reviewing services in line with the charter’s code of practice.

“The code of practice is clear that the maximum amount of bin capacity for general waste for houses should be 80 litres per week and that fits exactly with the 240 litre bins available to households that will receive a three weekly collection for general waste.

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“Early evidence from the introduction of the new arrangements shows that three-weekly kerbside collections are working as we hoped they would. Feedback given directly by frontline staff also indicates they welcome the new arrangements.”