Stirling has the most expensive bin collection in Scotland

07.04.2022 - 18:53 / dailyrecord.co.uk

Stirling Council’s waste service is running the most expensive bin collection in Scotland.

Tory opposition councillors have cited figures showing that the cost per household to collect household waste is almost double the Scottish average.

The costs of the service in all 32 Scottish councils is collected by the Improvement Service and released annually as part of the Local Government Benchmarking Framework Report that compares performance and costs for a range of services at all Scottish local authorities.

The Tories say the latest figures show it cost £137.56 per property to collect household waste in 2020/21 in the Stirling Council area, while the average cost across all 32 councils is nearly half that at £72.35.

A Stirling Conservative group spokesperson said: “Highland Council, over ten times the size of Stirling council area, covering one third of Scotland’s land area, manage to run two-weekly collections and do it for £83.66 per property.

“Stirling Council’s costs have risen from the £130.62 last year and remain by far the highest in Scotland.”

Stirling’s Conservative councillors have been campaigning to have the move from fortnightly to four-weekly grey and blue bin collections stopped ever since the council’s SNP/Labour administration approved them last year.

Despite an initial 6000 signature petition and a further petition of around 4000 names, special votes being called and an unsuccessful motion of no confidence lodged in the administration, the changes were introduced last September.

Of the 32 Scottish councils, 20 operate a two weekly service, two a weekly one and nine collect every three weeks.

The Tories claim the only other council in Scotland to operate four-weekly collections, Falkirk, has seen their recycling