Glasgow bin collections over Christmas branded ‘bizarre’ as festive waste could pile up

Concerns have been raised that some Glasgow households will be left without a bin collection for more than 40 days over the Christmas and New Year period, in what has been described as a ‘bizarre’ festive waste strategy.

GMB cleansing convenor Chris Mitchell has warned that front and back door properties across the city could go as long as 42 days without an uplift under Glasgow City Council’s plans for winter 2025.

The union has also highlighted that deep clean teams – normally responsible for maintaining pavements, pathways and roads – will be redeployed to assist refuse collection from Monday 15th December until Tuesday 20th January.

While the council has stressed that any excess waste will be collected on the next scheduled uplift, the GMB says the approach risks leaving residents struggling to cope with increased rubbish during one of the busiest times of year.

via Wikimedia Commons

GMB cleansing convenor Chris Mitchell said: “The deep clean staff will be put on allocated duties for six to eight weeks to help the bin men and women. We have to concentrate on the tenemental properties, but you have the back and front door homes as well.

“They are going to miss their collection and are not going to see an uplift for 42 days because of the festive waste strategy. Not everyone who stays in one of these properties has a car, so they can’t go back and forth to the tip.

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“We are meant to be promoting climate change and cycle lanes, but it doesn’t matter as much at Christmas – shove as much rubbish into your car and take as many trips to the dump as you want. It is a bizarre situation we are in.”

He added that the problems are not new. “It is the same every year. We have Christmas every year, so we need to finally get this right.”

Glasgow City Council has defended its approach, saying a revised festive waste plan introduced last year led to a more efficient service overall.

The strategy prioritises shared bin areas at flatted properties, where most of the city’s waste is generated, with collections continuing as normal apart from the four public holidays on December 25th and 26th, as well as January 1st and 2nd. Bins due to be collected on those dates will instead be uplifted on the next scheduled collection day.

Councillor Laura Doherty, City Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets, said Christmas and New Year place “huge pressure” on waste services.

“The four days of public holidays means an estimated 250,000 bins go uncollected,” she said.

“Winter weather can also disrupt collections, and households normally produce extra waste as part of the seasonal festivities. Residents sent us a clear message that the previous plan for waste services over the festive period wasn’t working as it should have done. We took that feedback on board and changes were brought in for last Christmas, which made a positive difference.”

She said the focus on flatted properties meant services returned to normal sooner, with fewer staff and vehicles required, and higher overall satisfaction.

However, the council acknowledged concerns from households missing collections over the holidays.

“To help minimise these concerns, I urge residents to use their recycling options as much as possible, use our household waste centres if you can, and be assured we will lift extra waste at the next scheduled collection day,” Laura said.

Despite those assurances, the GMB maintains that the festive strategy risks leaving some residents facing weeks of overflowing bins at a time when waste levels are at their highest.

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “There is disruption to the service due to the four public holidays over Christmas and New Year. The approach taking seeks to minimise the impact of that disruption by having a focus on flatted properties, where a significant majority of householders in Glasgow live.”

“Compared to previous years, taking this approach last year saw a significant, overall improvement to the service over the festive period. All householders who receive a kerbside collection should be assured that any excess waste will be lifted at the next collection for that kind of waste”.

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Featured image via Wikimedia Commons