MEASURES must be taken to reinstate Glasgow’s bulk uplift service to tackle the fly-tipping crisis the city faces, say the council's critics.
At a full council meeting today conservative councillor Thomas Kerr is expected to ask councillor Anna Richardson what progress has been made to resume the service.
Last month it was agreed that work of this nature should begin as soon as possible but members of the opposition want to know what steps have been taken to achieve this.
READ MORE: Fundraiser to repay Glasgow council worker facing 'unfair' pay reclaim
Councillor Kerr said: “It is now six weeks later and there has been no move to reinstate it whatsoever. The city is an absolute tip with fly-tipping right now.
“The administration voted in February to charge for bulk uplifts so when they are reinstated, they are going to be asking for £25 to collect household items.
“I was against this because I think it will encourage fly-tipping. If you are paying for a service, you expect the very best. Why are we paying more in council tax but getting a reduced service?”
Mr Kerr highlighted that areas of his ward including Tollcross, Parkhead and Shettleston Road were subjected to fly-tipping but
that it was spreading throughout Glasgow as a result of coronavirus.
He added: “Residents still can’t phone the council and ask them to pick up unwanted items.
“Are you going to keep a mattress you don’t need for example for months in your house or are you going to put it outside and hope someone will come and pick it up.
“I am hoping to get an understanding of where the administration is at. I want a better standard than from before Covid-19.
“Every councillor will be having the same problems with their constituents.
“This is about making the city look its best. We are a world class city, and we need to look our best.
“We are the fly-tipping capital of the UK. This is not something to be proud of it is horrendous.”
READ MORE: Glasgow City Council backs frontline pay rise calls
Chris Mitchell, GMB convener agreed the need to bring back bulk uplifts particularly in the run up to bonfire night.
He said: “We have asked for investment in this part off the service to combat the current crisis the people off Glasgow face.
“We need investment now to combat this crisis as it is a health and safety issue for the people of Glasgow.
“There a number of staff on temporary contracts that are due to end this month.
“This would have been an opportunity for the council to tackle this bulk crisis and offer workers a six month contract to deal with this problem moving forward before someone is hurt or even killed as we approach bonfire night.”
A council spokesman said:” Bulk uplifts were suspended in March following the coronavirus outbreak and the delivery of the service has continued to be affected by the consequences of the pandemic since then.
“We are working to restore the service as soon as we can.
“We continue to be grateful for the support we have received from housing associations who have removed large items on behalf of their tenants and residents who have utilised our household waste recycling centres.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here