Glasgow city centre commercial waste pilot comes into effect this weekend

The Council's six-month pilot project to tackle issues around commercial waste in the city centre comes into operation this weekend.

From Sunday, 25 June, any commercial waste containers found on street and lanes in eight areas in the city centre outwith designated times will be removed and confiscated by a team from the council.

One of the reasons for this action is that Glasgow city centre's appearance can be spoiled by bulky and brightly-coloured commercial waste containers on streets, pavements and lanes.  To address this, the primary objective of the city centre commercial waste pilot is to substantially reduce the adverse impact of current waste collection practices in parts of the city centre, and if successful, the project will be rolled out across the whole of the city centre.

This is not the only issue that the pilot will address, as commercial waste left out on streets can cause obstructions and can contribute to spilled waste and litter.  In addition, new national regulations also bring recycling requirements for commercial waste into line with domestic waste.

Pilot project

The pilot project has a number of key objectives:

(i) To reduce the amount of trade waste containers on the streets and improve the look and feel of the city centre;

(ii) To maximise the substantial capital investment already invested in Glasgow city centre and the further £115million to be spent on public realm works over the next few years via the Glasgow City Region City Deal;

(iii) To reduce the amount of litter derived from trade waste;

(iv) To encourage businesses to both manage their waste more responsibly and recycle more;

(v) To reduce public safety issues by removing tripping hazards and bins blocking footways which can potentially have a detrimental impact on visually impaired or disabled residents/visitors. The Equality Act 2010, (section 20: Duty to make adjustments) states "a duty not to indirectly discriminate and to make reasonable adjustments where existing arrangements place a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage"; and

(vi) To evaluate the impact and benefits of the project in order to make recommendations to Committee on potentially rolling out the programme across the city centre and to other city locations.

Engagement

The council has been - and will continue to be - engaged with key city centre stakeholders including Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, the City Centre Retail Association, Sauchiehall Street Business Improvement District, residents and independent businesses on the pilot project.  A survey found strong support for the project from residents and businesses.

Councillor Kenny McLean, City Convener for Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public Realm, said: "This project will make Glasgow City Centre more attractive for all those who work, live, study in or visit the area.  Clearing commercial waste bins from our streets will make the city centre cleaner, greener and safer, and we have received great support from local businesses and residents for the pilot scheme.  We are greatly encouraged by the input of businesses within the project areas. Although this is a challenging initiative, this input will be invaluable in ensuring its success and our streets are cleaner."

This pilot points the way forward for Glasgow city centre becoming a cleaner, greener, safer and more attractive area.  The city centre is the social and economic heart of Glasgow, and a huge powerhouse for Scotland, and we will do everything we can to ensure that all those who work, live, study and visit here have the best experience that they can.  We have developed this policy in consultation with city centre residents, business and organisations, and will continue to work with businesses in the city centre to deliver changes that will work for everyone with an interest in the area."

Locations

Eight locations - with 422 commercial waste bins - have been selected for this pilot project that include a mix of spaces across the city centre, including streets with heavy footfall, lanes, residential areas and commercial office zones:

· Sauchiehall Street - from Cambridge Street to St George's Road at Renfrew Road;

· Sauchiehall Lane - from Elmbank Street to Hope Street;

· Robertson Street;

· West Nile Street - between Gordon Street and St Vincent Street, and including Drury Street

· Garth Street, Merchant City

· John Street, Merchant City

· North Lane

· North Court

Commercial businesses within the project area received an initial flyer informing them of the changes, followed by an information pack detailing the new procedures.  Premises have been visited by a member of the project team to provide information on the changes. 

All commercial waste operators received information in writing on the changes, with adequate time given to facilitate and manage the procedures.  In addition, contractors attended a meeting to discuss changes with council officers.

Arrangements

Arrangements for the pilot project are as follows:

· No trade waste containers will be permitted to be stored on public pavements/streets/lanes outwith designated uplift windows;

· Enforcement of this will follow an twelve-week engagement programme with pilot area businesses and waste contractors;

· Non-compliant waste contractors will have their bins confiscated after the designated compliance date, and stored off site by GCC;

· Waste contractors will have 28 days to collect their bins from GCC with a corresponding charge for costs incurred by the council e.g. for disposing of the waste, storage, administration;

· Any bins not collected will be disposed of by GCC after 28 days;

· It is the responsibility of businesses to find a waste contractor that will work with them to find an appropriate internal form of waste storage.

Conditions

There are also the following conditions within the project:

· Within presentation times, waste will only be permitted to be placed for uplift within the specific time periods stated.  Proposed presentation windows are:  07.30am - 09.30amand 17:00 - 23:00pm;

· Waste can only be on the street for a specific time (one hour);

· If the waste is not collected within the specified time period the business must return the waste to their premises;

· Waste placed on street for collection must display the business name and collection time;

· Waste may only be placed out for collection when the business is open, and never overnight;

· Waste containers must be placed as near to the edge of a business property as is possible, whilst retaining clear pedestrian access.

Other UK cities, including Edinburgh and Manchester, have successfully carried out such projects, as has the City of Westminster.