A COUNCIL officer has defended the process of removing overflowing bins from public spaces after a councillor raised the issue.
Councillor Alastair Redman (Independent, Kintyre and the Islands) said he had heard from constituents who were no longer reporting overflowing bins in case they were taken away.
He remarked that it reminded him of an episode of the sitcom ‘Yes Minister’, and labelled the process “baffling”.
However, Argyll and Bute Council project officer Mark Calder said that the action of removing the bins was assisting with litter issues.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the council’s Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands area committee on Wednesday, June 4.
Councillor Redman: “I have had a number of correspondences for constituents who are reluctant to report overflowing bins.
“This stems from the fact that the roads department has a habit of taking away bins when they are overflowing, which is effectively punishing the wider public for using them.
“It is my opinion that in the busier months, we should have more uplifts, or more bins, but in my experience whenever I report this, the department has a habit of taking bins away, which as an elected member is baffling.
“Why is this happening? It seems counterintuitive when my constituents see overflowing bins and decide not to report them.”
Mr Calder responded: “When public bins are abused in the manner that Councillor Redman has outlined, it is a legitimate way to deal with that issue.
“I know on the face of it, it might seem counterintuitive, but in my experience when this happens the litter problem diminishes.
“In some locations, when bins are overflowing, that attracts litter and leads to fly-tipping, so there is certainly a logic behind that, protecting the public amenity and public space.
“That is why we remove them when they are being abused. It is a method that works.”
Councillor Redman then said: “I entirely disagree, and it reminds me of the ‘Yes Minister’ episode where they visit the best-run hospital that has no patients.
“You can have brilliant roads if it was not for all the cars, you can have brilliant bin services if people did not use them.
“If people are putting rubbish in the bin, it is not being abused. They are not being uplifted enough and the council must provide a better service. It is a backwards way of doing things.”
Mr Calder said: “I agree with Councillor Redman – we are here to provide services to the public. But when people leave material at the side of the bins, that is irresponsible and we need to take steps to protect the public amenity.
“We are not talking about not providing services to people, but we need people to work with us, to take their litter home or go to the next bin along. It is irresponsible to use the bins any other way.”
