Glasgow City Council to start charging for bulk uplifts

The council agreed in its budget last year that there would be a charge and it is now coming into effect.

The council said it costs money to get rid of waste and by reducing the amount going to landfill it can free up resources for other services.

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It wants bulk uplift to be a last resort.

The charge will apply from next Monday, July 5.

The charge will be £35 for ten items or £35 for a large electrical item.

Many housing association tenants in the city will still be able to get free uplifts from their landlor and the council does not charge the associations for disposal at recycling and wastes centres.

The council is encouraging people to think of alternatives to bulk uplift including donating to charity, or repair and upcylcing, before throwing out.

Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction, said: “Charging to remove bulky items is standard practice for almost every other Scottish local authority.

“But bringing in charging also gives us an opportunity to reshape how we dispose of larger items.

“Reducing the amount of waste we produce as a city and encouraging more reuse and recycling of unwanted items is a key element our new resources and recycling strategy

“A huge amount of energy and resources go into creating the products we buy, which directly links to how much carbon we produce as a city.

Anna Richardson

“By extending the life of the things we want to throw away as much as possible we can reduce our carbon footprint and help tackle the climate emergency.

“There is a growing culture of repair and upcycling that restores the usefulness of many items, but there is also an increasing range of possibilities for re-use that gives previously unwanted items a new home.

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“Donating to charity remains a positive choice, especially when many charities will collect from homes free-of-charge.  Zero Waste Scotland’s on-line re-use tool is a great asset for finding places for things that might otherwise be thrown away.

“But there are also less formal ways to move on items, such as through your local community forum on social media, or dedicated websites for sale and share or local companies looking for specific goods or materials that they can still extract value from.

“Alternatively our waste centres are set-up to receive a huge range of material seven days a week and many housing associations now also collect bulky items on behalf of their residents.

“Some items are broken beyond repair and do require to be sent for recycling, but requesting a bulk uplift from the council should really be the last resort for disposing of a large item.”