Council denies asking for recycling bins to be removed

GLASGOW City Council has denied asking for recycling bins to be removed at a car park where rats were found.

The Evening Times reported last month how a video showing dozens of rats scurrying around a retail park which includes food outlets was shared with Glasgow City Council’s environmental health team.

A member of the public captured footage of the rodents converging around waste food next to a recycling point used by the West End Retail Park on Crow Road.

Since then, Sainsbury’s tweeted its 500,000 followers that the council got rid of a recycle point at its Crow Road store to make way for parking spaces.

A council spokeswoman said: “This is not true. The recycling units at Crow Road retail park were removed at the request of the owners/ management.”

A member of the public had tweeted the groceries giant asking why the recycling bins had disappeared.

The official account responded: “I’ve spoken to the store and this was removed by Glasgow City Council, so that more parking spaces can be put in.”

Sainsbury’s, which is undergoing a merger with Asda, failed to mention the rat infestation in its car park as the likely reason for the removal of the recycling unit.

The Twitter exchange created the impression the council was contradicting one of its biggest mantras, to The council denied claims it asked for recycling bins at the West End Retail Park to be removed, and left, our front page story last month make Glasgow a “low carbon and sustainable city”.

The council’s PR team was quick to rebuke the claims made on the social media account. The spokeswoman added: “How they utilise the space is up to the owners, not the council.”