Council come clean on number of bin pick- up refusals

Rubbish collectors have refused to empty more than 1,300 bins in South Ayrshire with the wrong trash inside.

A total of 1,357 bins have been branded with a red tag and left on the pavement since the council upped recycling efforts. Residents have to fish out the banned rubbish. They then have to get in touch with South Ayrshire Council to ask for their abandoned wheelie bin to be collected on another date.

The figure was revealed at a full council meeting this week after Councillor Ian Davis asked for information on the number of bins being rejected. Collections have radically changed in South Ayrshire with the introduction of grey- coloured and purple- lidded bins to cut landfill bound waste.

Councillor Davis said residents have voiced “concerns” about the new strict regime.

His said in a written statement: “Anecdotally, the red tags are not a rare occurrence as many residents within the Ayr North ward and across the rest of South Ayrshire receive them.”

He quizzed the Environment Portfolio Holder Councillor Ian Cochrane about the process. The Ayr North Conservative politician asked the SNP councillor how many work hours are spent revisiting and emptying snubbed bins. In a written response, Councillor Cochrane said: “1,357 bins were reported by the householder as being tagged or contaminated.”

He added: “An additional six to seven hours per week are spent dealing with these bins. All returns to services are dealt within existing services.”