Waste scheme

Exceeds budget

North Lanarkshire Council’s implementation of a new waste collection scheme is more than £1 million over budget.

The shocking figures, obtained by the Advertiser through a Freedom of Information request, show the planned cost of the scheme up until mid-February was £878,500.

But by February 14 the expenditure was an eye-watering £2.09 million – £1.2 million over budget.

SNP group leader and Airdrie Central councillor David Stocks admitted he was shocked to learn of the huge overspend.

He said: “We always suspected there was an overspend. Some of our members were asking questions but I am shocked to hear the actual figure.”

A council spokeswoman said: “There were a number of issues when the council introduced a new household waste and recycling service last year and these were fully reported to the infrastructure committee in February.

“As a result of a significant demand for larger or new recycling bins, an additional 36,000 bins were purchased as well as a large quantity of extra biodegradable food liners (a total of 215,000 rolls of liners had been delivered by February).

“These items, plus the additional staff costs to deliver the new bins and address the problems encountered during the initial introduction of the scheme, have increased the budget significantly. Another report on the scheme and the costs will be presented to committee on May 2.”