A petition has been started in Stirling as a result of reduced bin collections during the festive season.
Local woman Karena Blyth is the driving force behind the call for the council to refund taxpayers due to residential recycling waste pick-up disruption over the Christmas and New Year period.
At the time of writing, 81 people have added their signature to the petition.
Stating her case on a Change.org web page, Ms Blyth wrote: “There is currently an 8-week gap for collection of blue bins by Stirling Council.”
In the Stirling Council area, blue bins are for recyclable cartons and containers, including those made of plastic, while grey bins take general, non-recyclable household waste.
Grey and blue bins are normally emptied on the same day, once every four weeks.
But for the duration of the festive season, Stirling Council decided there would be no blue bin uplifts between December 23 and January 5, in order to prioritise grey bin collections.
To use the Bannockburn area’s calendar as an example, this meant blue bins were emptied on December 6, and will not be collected again until January 31, leaving a gap of eight weeks.
The local authority advised on its website: “To maximise space in your blue bin, please wash and squash items before placing it in your bins.
“Excess waste and recycling can be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre.”
The council has emphasised that the temporary changes to our household waste collection were shared on its communication channels, in the local media and with community groups.
‘We wouldn’t pay a window cleaner who didn’t turn up’
Ms Blyth wrote: “In many cases it is already difficult to fit the recyclable items in the blue bin on the usual 4-week cycle.
“I doubt I will be alone in thinking this is inconvenient and quite dangerous.
“I was hit by flying debris from the overflowing bins during the recent storms.
“I have had to use my own time and resources to take the excess refuse to the recycling centre.
“I feel it is unjust to pay for this service in full, and not receive all 4-weekly collections.
“If, for example, we pay a window cleaner. We would not pay if they did not turn up and clean our windows.”
Claims of health and safety risk
The petitioner is not alone in expressing her frustration about the amount of recycling building up at her property between bin collections, with some fellow Stirlingshire locals sharing similar views on social media in recent days.
Others argued recycling could be packed down to make more space in wheelie bins, and that single-use plastic could be avoided.
Ms Blyth claims the situation isn’t just inconvenient, but potentially poses a risk to health and safety, particularly during bad weather.
She is calling for “a rebate to the taxpayers to reflect the missed services, commensurate with the rates householders have paid in accordance with their respective council tax bands.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “Due to the public holidays over the festive period impacting available resource and staffing levels, like many other councils across Scotland, we had to make some temporary adjustments to our household bin collections.
“This saw us drop one plastics and cans (blue bin) collection for some residents to ensure general non-recyclable waste (grey) bins were prioritised for collection.
“Blue bin waste can be stored for a longer period of time, with less environmental risk compared to general waste, and can be washed and squashed to maximise space.
“Our Household Waste and Recycling Centres were also open for most of the festive period for people to dispose of excess waste.
“We thank our residents for their patience and understanding on this matter.”
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