No plans to reduce weekly bin collections
Tuesday, October 17 2006
In a recent report attributed to COSLA (the body representing Scotland’s Local Authorities), it was suggested that all Scottish Councils are preparing to introduce fortnightly refuse collections. This is not the case in the Scottish Borders.
Earlier today, Councillor David Paterson, Executive Spokesman for Technical Services, said, “I’d like to reassure everyone in the Borders that we have no plans to introduce fortnightly waste collections. I know that several Councils have done this already, and others are thinking about it but Scottish Borders Council is not planning any change.”
He continued, “However, we are considering how we can collect waste more efficiently and we will be reviewing the way we collect recycled materials. The recycling service has been in operation for about 18 months, and now we have some real experience of how the service works we want to check that it is operating as efficiently as possible.”
Officers are aware of the trials done in other areas with fortnightly collections. “We know that in some areas of the UK a fortnightly collection seems to work, but it can create problems,” an SBC spokesman said. “The bin can be too small for the needs of larger families, or there can be a nuisance created by of smells from old kitchen waste, particularly during the summer months.”
Councillor Paterson added, “Of course, we shouldn’t rule out fortnightly collections altogether, so we’ll be watching to see how successful these schemes by other Councils are, and what the public think of them. Until then, we plan to keep to tried and tested weekly collections.”
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