A concerned local has slammed Glasgow City Council after a gap in bin collections over the festive period has caused a major fly-tipping issue.
In a video shared by GMB Union Convenor Chris Mitchell, piles upon piles of rubbish can be seen scattered along Levenside Road in Pollok – which has only gotten worse over the festive period.
The scenes, captured on camera on January 2, have been described as “shocking” with fly-tippers reportedly “flinging” rubbish following a cut back in refuse services over the Christmas period, with some having to wait six weeks for an uplift.
Chris’ colleague Eddie, who captured the video, stays local to Pollok and feels the issue is getting out of hand. Speaking to Glasgow Live he said: “The place is going downhill big time – rubbish is getting dumped everywhere and nobody seems to care where they’re dumping it. Cuts to services are having a devastating effect – you can simply no longer run a service which the public has a basic right to expect”.
Chris Mitchell shared the video to X, saying: “This is what happens when you cut refuse services in Glasgow. Some parts having to wait 6 weeks for a collection. So they dump it. Join the fight save services.”
Residents are concerned about the risk of rodents, as the rat infestation issue in and around Glasgow city hits its peak. It comes after a Freedom of Information request revealed that more than 100 people have required treatment at Greater Glasgow and Clyde Hospitals for rat wounds.
Speaking to Glasgow Live, Chris said this fly-tipping incident in Pollok is a prime example of why there is a worrying increase in rat infestation reports – describing the issue as “Glasgow’s plague”, and says the council are “in denial”.
We previously reported how Glaswegians could be left ‘drowning in litter’ after the council announced no recycling bin collections for seven weeks.
Residents were urged to empty their own recycling bins and drive to the nearest tip over the festive period.
Households with grey bins – for plastics, metals, cartons, and food tins – will not see an uplift until January 22, with residents also due a kerbside collection on January 1, not receiving a visit until January 29. Collections for thousands of brown bins for food and garden waste also face similar delays.
The GMB claimed a meeting on the festive refuse collection rota saw council bosses suggest that families living in houses with a car could take their own rubbish to the dump if necessary. But the local authority insisted it was implementing a new rota which would focus on the two-thirds of households in the city living in tenements or apartment blocks.
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After seeing the “shocking” scenes in Pollok, Chris Mitchell said he “warned” the council that this would happen.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “We know the impact of Christmas and New Year public holidays on bin collections services can cause disruption for affected residents.
“In recent years this impact has been particularly felt by those living in flats and tenements as waste can build up quickly in communal areas and cause environmental issues.
“To try and minimise the impact of the loss of service on public holidays, we are taking a different approach this year by focusing additional effort on back courts, bin rooms and public sites.
“To support this approach we are asking residents who are scheduled to receive a kerbside collection on any of the public holidays to wait until their next scheduled dates before putting their bins on the pavement for collection.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but affected residents can be assured any excess or build-up of waste will be removed on their next collection day.
“We hope these residents will make full use of their recycling bins and compact their waste as far as possible to make the most of their available bin capacity.
“Opening of our public waste centres were extended to include Boxing Day and January 2 to help residents manage any build-up of waste over the holiday period.”
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