Bins won’t be picked up if their content is recyclable
BIN men are set to refuse to take any household rubbish which could be recycled under draconian new rules.
Families in Scotland, already facing the UK’s first monthly collections, could see their bins left unemptied if they contain any paper, card, glass, plastics, metals or food.
Critics say the move will target busy families and elderly people who slip up and throw away recyclable waste.
But half of Scotland’s local authorities have already signed up to the Charter for Household Recycling, which commits councils to bringing in the rule.
It comes after more than 17,000 Scots staged a revolt against councils’ abolition of weekly bin collections, signing petitions across the country.
Falkirk Council, which will start Britain’s first monthly bin collections in two months, has almost 2,800 opponents to the move.
It was one of the first councils to have signed the charter, which pledges to cut collection services to provide the ‘appropriate motivation to our citizens to recycle’.
Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone said: ‘Everyone accepts recycling is a good thing. But this level of strictness goes too far.
‘It’s quite unacceptable that council tax payers could lose a part of their service in this way because of the odd rogue item.
‘The SNP has to remember that bin collection is something people pay for. It’s not a privilege which it can remove at any time.’
The charter for councils contains a pledge which says: ‘We will ensure that our local policies direct our collection crews to not collect containers for waste that cannot be recycled that clearly contain recyclable materials.’
This raises the possibility that households with monthly collections could wait eight full weeks to have their detritus taken away if they discard the wrong items.
It is not clear if this means bin men will rake through people’s rubbish to find recyclables.
The authorities which have signed the charter are Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Inverclyde, Midlothian, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, Scottish Borders and Western Isles councils.
A spokesman for council umbrella body Cosla said: ‘The charter simplifies recycling, making it easier for citizens to sort their waste, and also improves the quality of the materials being sent for recycling.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said it is for local authorities to decide how services are delivered in the area, adding: ‘Recycling helps save taxpayers’ money, reduces the amount of rubbish being sent to landfill sites and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.’