Newlorries bringrefuse fleetto15

Stirling’s new fleet of bin lorries has started to arrive.

Stirling Council began sending out new containers in September - purchased at a cost of £1 million but faced a barrage of criticism from residents as collections were delayed in the immediate aftermath of the rollout.

The authority has asserted that the new system is more efficient, and that the arrival of new lorries will build on recent improvements to collections.

The new fleet, which are being let from a sub-contractor, had been due to arrive in January, and some of the vehicles have finally been out on the rounds this week.

A council spokeswoman said: “There are six new vehicles already in use and four others will arrive shortly, bringing the fleet up to 15. This includes the nine new waste collection vehicles and five other vehicles used to support additional services delivered by Waste Services, including special uplifts and bin deliveries.”

Earlier this month, Dunblane Community Council expressed their concerns about problems with bin collections in the town.

The council’s environment convenor Danny Gibson attended the meeting, and reassured the group the authority’s new collection lorries should help alleviate the problems.

After the meeting, he said: “Council staff are doing their utmost to maximise route completion on the same day and the new vehicles that will be with us shortly will help all concerned as they have automatic rather than manual lifting functions.”