'How do the influential people in the West End tolerate this?' Fed-up Glasgow resident demands action over bin collections

Stephen Johnstone, who lives in Dowanside Lane in Glasgow’s West End, says it has almost been six weeks since recycling bins were emptied.

Council bosses apologised for the delay and said that rubbish will be collected today after they were contacted by the Glasgow Times.

READ MORE: Glasgow City Council issues apology over delay in bin collections

Stephen says the situation is a “disgrace”.

He added: “Ruthven Lane and Dowanside Lane are a disgrace and we’re paying council tax for this. It’s bang out of order.

“What I can’t get my head round is how do the influential people in the West End tolerate this? Even the streets, we shouldn’t be living like this.”

The lanes are situated just a stone’s throw from Byres Road and include well known restaurants frequented by tourists.

“I’m embarrassed to walk down the lane. If you were going out for a meal, would you want to sit near these big piles of rubbish?”

READ MORE: Kevin Bridges takes swipe at Glasgow City Council over unemptied bins

Mr Johnstone has contacted his local councillor about the issue who contacted Glasgow City Council’s neighbourhoods, regeneration and sustainability office – and was given assurances that the rubbish would be collected.

Mr Johnstone added: “I’ve even had to take some of my rubbish to work and put it in a skip there, which you’re not supposed to do.

“My poor wife, she keeps the lane clean. She goes out down the road and cleans it.

“Something has got to be seriously done.

“The West End is looking terrible. It’s like a landfill site. I’m not saying we should have more privileges or be looked after any better but we all pay our council tax.”

We reported earlier this month about the “mountains” of rubbish in bins across the city. Concerned residents sent in pictures of overflowing bins on Broomhill Drive and Dumbarton Road.

And last week, Glasgow City Council issued an apology for the delay in collections, citing staff absences due to Covid along with leave over the festive period as reasons for delays.

READ MORE: Shocking images show mountains of rubbish piles in Glasgow

Residents were assured that collections were “mainly back to normal” but some areas may experience further delays due to high levels of absence and the “rapid spread” of the Omicron variant.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council advised that the bins would be collected today. They added: “We are very sorry for any delays to bin collections following the festive period.

“The festive holidays always have an impact on the collection schedule and we also experienced high levels of absence within the team due to illness, covid self-isolation and annual leave.

“The extra waste produced over the festive period also takes longer to process but with a very small number of exceptions, we have now fully caught up on collections throughout the city.

“Work to empty recycling bins on Dowanside Lane is due to be completed today.”