Successful city centre commercial waste pilot in Glasgow to be rolled out across city

Glasgow City Council's pilot project to tackle issues around commercial waste in the city centre - which has been a great success over the past six months - is to be rolled out in phases across the city over the next 17 months.

The council's City Administration Committee approved the expansion of the project today (12 October).  The timetable of this expansion as follows:

·         The entire city centre to be compliant by the end of March 2018;

·         The north-west of Glasgow to be compliant by 15 September 2018;

·         The south of Glasgow to be compliant by 8 December 2018; and

·         The north-east of Glasgow to be compliant by 2 March 2019.

The pilot project began on 3 April in eight city centre locations with the primary aim of substantially reducing the adverse impact of the then current waste collection practices (notably through the use of bulky, brightly-coloured commercial waste containers on streets, pavements and lanes) in parts of the city centre to enhance the appearance of the area and make a visit more pleasant for all those who live, work and study there.

In addition, the pilot project was expected to tackle issues of accessibility, recycling and reducing the amount of spilled waste and litter on city centre streets and lanes, all with a view to potentially expanding the scheme to the rest of the city centre and out across Glasgow.

Throughout the duration of the pilot project, the council engaged with city centre stakeholders and a survey found strong support from local residents and businesses.  The latter period of the pilot project saw the eight locations completely clear of the 460 commercial waste containers that had previously been stored on the streets of these areas.

An evaluation of the pilot project, carried out by Keep Scotland Beautiful on behalf of the council, found an improvement in environmental conditions resulting in the highest cleanliness score in a decade as a result.  This and other data compiled by the council showed a clear need for the project to continue and be extended into other parts of the city.

Councillor Kenny McLean, City Convener for Neighbourhoods, Housing and Public Realm, said: "I am delighted by the decision to make a phased roll-out of this project across Glasgow.  The pilot showed how adopting these measures made the streets of the selected areas in the city centre cleaner, greener and safer, and I look forward to the expansion of the scheme making Glasgow an even more pleasant place for everyone who lives, works or studies in the city, as well as for our visitors.  I would like to thank all of our partners in the city centre who have worked with us to deliver the pilot project, and we will continue to engage with residents, business and other organisations to ensure the project is equally successful across the rest of Glasgow."

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stuart Patrick said: "The new arrangements are undoubtedly challenging for some businesses, but this has to be laid against the concerns raised by many of our members about the impact on both appearance and accessibility of large commercial waste containers left in the street during the working day. The city centre pilot has been a success, and we welcome the scheme's expansion to other parts of the city."