Garden waste bins allocation ‘anomaly’
Residents in Perth and Kinross face a postcode lottery over the allocation of garden waste bins.
Lib Dem councillor Willie Robertson says he has been fighting for over 10 years for around 20 homes in his ward to get garden waste bins to no avail, whilst new builds in Kinross are being granted bins straight away.
The councillor voiced his outrage at the“anomaly”at last week’s environment and infrastructure committee meeting following revelations in a report that 44 per cent of Perth and Kinross general waste is recyclable.
Cllr Robertson said:“That’s quite frightening.”
Interim waste services manager Sheila Best told the committee a high percentage of organic waste was not being put in a brown bin.
Her report states:“Consistently, our waste analysis shows that over 30 per cent of residual waste is food waste and over a quarter is avoidable food waste.”
Cllr Robertson then told the committee a number of residents in his ward cannot get a brown-lidded bin despite the garden waste bin lorry going right past their road end.
Speaking afterwards, Cllr Robertson told the Perthshire Advertiser it concerns two developments in Kinross-shire of about 20 houses in total, and said the residents there are quite upset.
He says they have been asking for a brown bin for about 10 to 15 years, and the fact they had been refused was“just shocking”.
Interim waste services manager Sheila Best told the committee they were at capacity, but were exploring the feasibility of introducing a‘bring’ facility for people to“bring food waste to another location.”
But Cllr Robertson said it was“hardly green to get in your car and bring your food waste.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said:“The council has previously considered whether an extension to its current domestic brown bin kerbside collection is feasible.
“As well as set-up costs to extend the service to include all remaining rural households, the ongoing vehicle, fuel, staffing and waste processing costs would annually be around £400,000 per year.
“Even with the income generated through garden waste permits, an extension would not be economically viable in the long-term, based on the financial constraints we face.”