Glasgow man hits out over construction waste on streets

Colin Manclark, from Knightswood, told the Glasgow Times that he has been bothered by the discarding of plastic barriers, sandbags and cones over the last few years, which he quoted as a safety concern for those with disabilities and an issue for the city's image. 

READ NEXT: First Bus engineers across Greater Glasgow set to strike

The 50-year-old said: "If I drive to work from Knightswood Cross to George's Cross, I see construction waste just discarded everywhere. 

"Building sites are just fly-tipping and leaving all their contraflow without picking it up. That's probably why we have cones on the heads of statues because companies aren't taking their mess with them. 

"Glasgow has become a dump because of this. It's frightening. 

"It's easier to see a cone than a packet of crisps, so why is there no focus on clearing it up?"

Colin has slammed Glasgow City Council (GCC) for 'not caring' about clearing the contraflow. 

He stated that GCC has been a 'sham', leaving him to wonder why the public is 'even paying council tax'. 

He added: "No one in Glasgow City Council cares. They are a sham when it comes to this matter. 

"I've contacted the council about it and it's the same rhetoric every time, they say that they care but they don't, it's a total farce.

"The council and government are not being socially responsible and with tourism in the city, I don't know why they don't care.

"We pay council tax, but the council can't even perform basic services."

READ NEXT: Councillors back call to improve access to public toilets in Glasgow

Colin has also claimed that the council's app, MyGlasgow app, which allows members of the public to report litter in the city, does not work efficiently. 

He said: "The app simply doesn't work. 

"I've used it before and I had confirmation about a week later saying that the waste has been lifted and I went to check it out myself and it hasn't been lifted. 

"Someone is lying and I've got evidence of that."

Responding to the allegations, a Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: "Organisations with the authority to undertake road works are expected to remove all equipment from their work site when finished, including traffic management equipment.

"We do random checks on work sites to ensure organisations are removing equipment and materials properly.

"If a failure to remove equipment and materials is identified it will be reported to the relevant organisation.

“If discarded equipment is reported to us, we will arrange to have it removed if we cannot identify the traffic management company or parent company responsible."

Colin also believes that the lack of labelling on construction materials is part of the problem. 

He said: "Labelling is a big problem, I think.

"When companies don't label, it means they get away with leaving their stuff around. It's not a big ask.

"There was a company which left a load of their stuff around in Georges Cross and I had to phone them about three to four times to get the matter sorted.

"As the public, we shouldn't need to worry about that."

Colin has been working closely on the matter with William Rennie, the former leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats (between 2011 and 2021).

Willie said: "Colin has been rightly dogged in his pursuit of councils and national bodies for their lax approach to the recovery of their signage and waste following the completion of road works.

"I have backed Colin and have asked difficult questions of those councils and transport bodies.

"There is little doubt that they are responsible for a large amount of "legal" fly tipping which is unsightly and sometimes dangerous."