COUNCILLORS have voted for a “comprehensive review” of Renfrewshire’s bin collection service, following a barrage of complaints from residents, writes Jack Thomson

A motion put forward by Councillor Andy Doig called for a “root and branch re-examination” of the service, which underwent changes last year.

It stated: “There is an attitude of complacency that the system is now working well, which it is not.”

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Changes made to the service saw residents issued with a new green bin for plastics, cans and glass, meaning the blue bin is reserved for paper, card and cardboard.

As a result, grey general waste bins are now collected once every three weeks, instead of what was previously once a fortnight.

The blue and green bins are collected once every four weeks and the brown bin every two weeks.

Elected members have been inundated with complaints of missed uplifts since the change and Councillor Doig said the local authority should be past the bedding-in period.

Councillor Cathy McEwan, the environment convener, did not hide from the challenges the service has faced but defended the work council officers are doing.

She said: “Since the waste changes were put in place at the end of November, there have been positive signs of community engagement across Renfrewshire. Let’s not forget that.”

She put forward an amendment, which stated: “Council notes that the performance of the waste collection service is regularly reported to council and refers to the report presented to and agreed at the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board on August 28, 2019.

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“This report confirmed that issues with bin collection in specific areas remain a focus for waste officers, and work continues to resolve particular issues.

“Council also notes that any councillor who has ongoing issues with any particular service area can raise this with waste managers to discuss potential solutions.”

However, there were 22 votes for Councillor Doig’s motion, with 19 for Councillor McEwan’s amendment, meaning a review should be carried out.

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