Overflowing Highland bottle banks due to collection vehicle issues ‘very concerning’, says MSP Ariane Burgess
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Overflowing bottle banks and a repeat of collection issues that hit the council’s contractors last year are “very concerning”, a Highland MSP has said.
Shoppers and passers-by noticed a number of sites with full banks and piles of glass after the latest issues late last month - with facilities in some supermarkets in Inverness and Dingwall among those that were affected.
Sites included the Dores Road Tesco and Telford Street Lidl in Inverness, and the Tesco, Lidl and south car park bottle banks in Dingwall.
Highland Council said the issue was due to “some intermittent vehicle downtime” at its glass collection contractor, Biffa, but said that the “necessary” vehicle numbers were now operating and working to tackle those sites that had been missed.
However, news of the disruption has been criticised by Highland Green MSP Ariane Burgess, who described the situation as “immensely frustrating”.
And she said that new issues with the collection fleet, which caused “similar failures last year”, were “very concerning”.
She said: “It’s immensely frustrating to see so many uncollected glass bottles. We’re now a year on from the Tory government’s absurd decision to block Scotland’s deposit return scheme – a policy once supported by all parties and which was passed before the Internal Market Act used to block it was drafted.
“Since then we are no closer to the promised UK-wide recycling scheme and hundreds of thousands of glass bottles have been destroyed or discarded at a significant cost to local Councils and residents. Residents who, under the Scottish scheme, would instead have been paid for returning them.
“Following similar collection failures last year, Biffa Waste Services (BWS) promised a more robust service as well as investment in additional vehicles and resource contingency planning, so it’s very concerning to see these problems repeated just a few months later.
Highland Council, meanwhile, has revealed that Biffa is expected to take delivery of replacement vehicles “by the autumn”.
Commenting on the recent disruption, a spokesperson said:: "The council’s glass contractor Biffa has experienced some intermittent vehicle downtime over the past few weeks. Over this time, there has continued to be servicing of sites across Highland each day.
“Currently Biffa has the necessary level of vehicles and drivers out servicing glass banks, and any outstanding sites will be recovered. Biffa will be taking delivery of ordered replacement vehicles by the autumn."
Meanwhile, Ariane Burgess has urged members of the public who encounter full bottle banks to take their glass to another site nearby, or hold onto it until the banks are cleared. She warned that piling bottles up outside the banks posed a danger to people and wildlife, and also risks fires if broken shards focus sunlight onto nearby vegetation.
“Glass litter has a direct physical impact on wild and domestic animals, those taking part in outdoor sports, on cyclists and children,” she warned. “In the Marine Conservation Society’s most recent Beachwatch survey, glass bottles were found on 53 per cent of all beach cleans.
“Meanwhile, fire and rescue services across the UK have also noted a link between littered glass and wildfires, something we’re at particular risk of us in the Highlands, so it’s important that until BWS and the council resolve this situation, people keep hold of their glass.”
