Why are the rubbish bins in city overflowing?
ASK people what the biggest problem in their community is in Glasgow and the answer is the same all over the city. Overflowing bins, litter on the street and the overall sense that the city is not clean.
It is undeniable, the evidence is there in front of everyone’s eyes.
In the last few weeks for the Glasgow Times, I have been in a number of high streets and in communities across the city asking people their thoughts ahead of the council elections.
The number one concern has undoubtedly been litter, rubbish and street cleansing has been.
It makes no difference whether it is in the north, south, east or west, whether the community is affluent or deprived the answer is the same. Litter, and dirty streets.
The street bins are often overflowing. The black general rubbish bins are often overflowing and the recycling bins placed around the streets are also overflowing.
And there is on many streets litter lying in the gutter and blowing around the pavements, trapped in hedges and fences adding to the overall sense of a dirty city.
The question we need to ask is why are the bins overflowing and why is there litter on the streets?
Perhaps the council could empty them more frequently. That would cost more money to employ more workers to not only collect them but transport it and either dump it, incinerate it or process it for recycling.
There are many who are not happy with the change to a threeweekly collection of the domestic general waste bins.
It is misinterpreted as the three-week bin collection. Bins are collected every week; it is only the green household non-recyclable bin that is collected every three weeks.
The cleansing workers are busy collecting other recycling bins on the other weeks.
Perhaps we need to think about what is going in the bins and how does the litter get on to the street.
In the case of litter, sometimes it is from overflowing street bins.
But you need to ask, why would anyone put more rubbish onto an already overflowing bin. Or because it is full leave it on the street.
There is a school I regularly see the pupils at lunchtime and have witnessed their habits. It is most likely the same all over the city.
The pupils seem otherwise well-behaved but when it comes to litter too many are not conscientious.
From the school to the nearby high street where there is a small supermarket, and various bakers and takeaways catering for their needs and wants.
Every day there is a trail from the shops to the school where packaging is discarded without a thought. Often it is chucked away within sight of a bin. A bin that is not overflowing.
It is not only young people who need to look at their own habits and behaviour, far from it.
One of the highlights of walking around speaking to people was how many had dogs with them or dugs as they are better known in these parts.
Big dugs, wee dugs, excitable dugs, Fifi in Saracen Street and Cooper in Byres Road, were just two of the many. I hope you’rE reading this Fifi and Cooper.
But sadly, in many streets dog fouling was an obvious issue. And there can be no
argument who is to blame for dog fouling. It is not the council, it is not cuts, it is not even the dog.
The answer is obvious.
As a society we are producing far too much waste, unnecessary waste that then has to be recycled, which uses resources and energy, or sent to landfill.
Plastic and cardboard takeaway food packaging, excessive and superfluous plastic packaging on items in supermarkets.
Tonne after tonne of food waste, thrown out because supermarkets sell to us in quantities that suit their needs rather than ours.
A throwaway clothing culture adds to the mountain of waste that is overwhelming not only our city but our country and the western world.
Across Scotland, according to the latest available statistics for 2020, the recycling rate dropped and the household recycling rate is just under 42%, whereas in 2019 it was just under 45%.
Then pandemic is though to have had an impact as the general trend in previous years has been an increase.
In Glasgow, it actually increased from 24.7% to 29.6%.
The city, however, has the lowest recycling rate of all mainland Scotland, only Orkney and Shetland are lower.
Glasgow, though, does not have the highest rate going to landfill because the council diverts more to other means like creating energy from waste than most other councils.
So yes, there needs to be more frequent street bin collections and investment in cleansing and recycling protected.
But there also needs to be an end to the idea that we can just throw things away, whether it is on the street or in the bin and someone else will clean up after us.
Yes, when the council is failing in its responsibility to invest in cleansing and recycling, we should let it be known.
But as we are proud to tell others People Make Glasgow. And if Glasgow is to live up to its name of the dear green place, it is us the people who need to make sure that is the case.
As a society we are producing far too much waste