Glasgow is a vibrant bustling city with a wide variety of attractions and activities. This new approach will help make Glasgow a cleaner, greener and safer city whilst encouraging more visitors to spend time in the city. Waste permanently stored on our streets attracts vermin, causes litter and obstruction issues for people with mobility issues. Improving the appearance of our streets will benefit all who use them - and be good for businesses too.
Your business waste is your responsibility and will need to be stored within your property or on private land. Under no circumstances should this be within the fire escape routes. Please speak to your trade waste contractor in the first instance. Some useful ways to manage this may include having your waste collected from within your business, increasing the frequency of collections, using collapsible bins or sharing bins with neighbouring businesses. There are also a number of trade waste collectors operating in Glasgow city centre that can help you explore the options available.
Having waste collected more frequently may carry an increased cost; however recycling more may result in saving money. Waste (Scotland) Regulations require you to follow the waste hierarchy:
By analysing the waste you produce and following the waste hierarchy you may lower the amount of waste you produce and the collections you therefore require. See Resource Efficient Scotland - Save Money on Waste.
If for some reason, your trade waste contractor cannot collect your waste you will have to take it off the street and re-arrange collection. It is not acceptable to put out your waste and leave it when your business is closed; this is a failure in your duty of care.
No. Trade waste sacks/bags are not suitable for glass, which may get broken and burst the bag. Placing glass waste in bags is not acceptable due to the risk of injury to your staff, members of the public or trade waste contractor personnel. Please speak to your trade waste contractor to look at alternative options including smaller containers which can be stored on your property and/or the frequency of your uplifts.
No, if your bins are collected from within your premises or on your private land then these changes will not affect you.
The Council is making these changes in accordance with various legislative provisions including the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. Section 151 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 defines a "road". A road means any way over which there is a public right of passage. Therefore, if your bins are kept in a lane, which the public can pass through and this meets the statutory definition of a road, then you will still need to present your waste in allocated time slots.
We will work with you and your business as much as possible to help you comply with these changes. Should your trade waste be found on the street out with the allotted time slots, or for longer than one hour, enforcement action may be taken under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which could lead to a fine of up to £1000. If you are concerned about not being compliant or want advice please do not hesitate to contact us, we are committed to helping and supporting you to improve the appearance of Glasgow.
The City of Westminster, Manchester and Edinburgh have all successfully employed a similar system with a significant improvement to their appearance. See Edinburgh Trade Waste Case Studies [139kb].
You should contact your trade waste contractor in the first instance for further assistance. Should you have any further enquires please contact the Customer Care Centre team on: 0141 287 1059 (option 3)
SAFE AND HYGIENIC STORAGE OF WASTE INSIDE FOOD BUSINESSES - GUIDANCE FOR BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY TRADE WASTE
Food businesses must have adequate provision for the storage and disposal of food waste and other refuse. To comply with the collection windows, it will be necessary to temporarily store food waste within food premises. The legislation that is relevant includes EC Regulation 852/2004 on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The following will help you to comply with food hygiene and health and safety requirements and protect against rodent and insect pests: