Letter: Pollokshields resident on their frustrations with overflowing bin hubs and council inaction
Despite council claims of success, a Pollokshields resident shares a ground-level view of overflowing bins, missed collections, and broken promises — raising questions about whether Glasgow’s bin hub pilot is ready for citywide rollout.
Rubbish piled on and around a bin hub in Pollokshields
To the Editor,
I am writing in response to your article, "Bin Hubs Better? Residents Have Their Say on City Council Trial" (March 14), which discussed the largely positive findings of a council feedback exercise on the bin hub pilot. While I appreciate the aim of the article, I feel it's crucial to offer a different perspective – that of a resident living with these bin hubs in Pollokshields.
When the bin hubs were initially rolled out, we attended in-person Q&A sessions. We were promised dedicated support, people on the ground to monitor the system, and the opportunity to feedback and contribute to the success of the pilot. This instilled both trepidation and hope within the community. Now, it appears all of those assurances were untrue, and we're simply left with the mess (literally).
While it is true that the bin hubs are aesthetically more pleasing than unsightly wheelie bins cluttering our streets, the reality on the ground, particularly for certain streets like ours which are cul-de-sacs, is far from the success story presented.
We have been raising concerns about these issues with my local Councillor, Zen Ghani (SNP) Ward 6 Pollokshields, since November 2023. While I do receive responses to my emails, they are often delayed and, regrettably, rarely offer any tangible assistance. Other neighbours have also expressed similar concerns and written to the council, only to feel equally disheartened.
The only exception has been the installation of double yellow lines in front of our bin hubs after a significant amount of back and forth. However, even this, a seemingly simple solution, has proven ineffective. These yellow lines are not regularly monitored by wardens, and as a result, cars continue to park directly in front of the hubs, leading to missed bin collections. We've experienced this multiple times, particularly for less frequent collections like plastics, which then overflow and create an even greater mess. To give context, plastics are only collected every 8 days, so a missed pick up means a 16 day wait. (see attached photos)
Adding to our woes is the issue of flytipping and neighbour misuse. Unlike some other streets, where bin hubs were installed on both sides, our cul-de-sac only has them on one side. This has led to residents from the opposite side of the street, who are not allocated these hubs, routinely using ours. They may not have keys, but they simply pry open the tops of the bins, dumping their waste and overfilling our hubs. This not only causes a significant increase in the volume of rubbish but also leads to incorrect disposal, with general waste ending up in recycling bins. At times, the whole area around the hubs is simply a mess, with overfilled bins leading to litter being strewn by birds. This is not to say it is only the other side of the street that causes this.
We have offered proposed solutions to these persistent problems. Simple changes, such as adjusting bin collection times on our street to later in the morning (after 8:30am), when cars that double-park or park in front of the bins would have moved, could make a significant difference. We've also suggested the installation of CCTV cameras or, as was initially promised, having people on the ground monitoring the hubs.
Unfortunately, regular monitoring is not the case; occasionally, Glasgow City Council staff show up to check something after a complaint has been made, but it's a slow process, often meaning neighbours have already taken matters into their own hands and cleaned up the mess themselves.
We have also suggested imposing fines for misuse and improper parking. One would think this would be beneficial to the council, both in raising funds and deterring bad behaviour. We are not alone in considering fines; cities like Malta impose fines of £1000 for litter – and are gleaming clean.
I was once told in an email from the council that, "I can further advise, at the beginning of the project, a supervisor was in attendance while the bins were being serviced, and although that level of monitoring has been scaled back slightly, the hubs are still being regularly monitored. We will increase the monitoring at this location to ensure immediate action is taken when necessary to ensure any fly tipping is removed and illegally parked cars are dealt with timeously." This, regrettably, is not what we're experiencing on the ground. When I expressed concern that this project was not learning from the pilot and correcting mistakes before the wider rollout, my concerns were met with deaf ears. All terribly disappointing.
I don't wish to be a spokesperson, but I feel it's vital to highlight the practical, day-to-day problems faced by residents like myself and my neighbours. The council's surveys might paint a broadly positive picture, but they don't seem to capture the persistent and frustrating issues we endure. The project, while well-intentioned, is far from a complete success when residents are left to deal with overflowing bins, missed collections, and the misuse by those not designated to use them.
While I understand that improving waste management may not be at the top of Glasgow's priority list, there have certainly been improvements, and it seems prudent to learn from the Pollokshields pilot before rolling out these hubs further across the city – especially in areas where rubbish is already a concern like Govanhill.
All the best,
A Concerned Pollokshields Neighbour
Keep it civil, but tell us what you think. Should bin hubs be rolled out to other neighbourhoods? What could be done to make them work better for all?