PRESSURE is mounting on Glasgow City Council to scrap its controversial commercial waste scheme.

Under the project – introduced last month in an effort to clean up the city centre and attract more tourists – no trade waste containers can be left on the city’s pavements, streets or lanes outwith designated uplift windows.

Commercial bins are only allowed on the street for one hour and, if the bins are not collected on time, must be returned to the premises.

But after eight weeks of trying to get to grips with the new system, increasing numbers of businesses have slammed the “cack-handed” scheme – branding it “a health and safety disaster” that simply does not work.

Traders say they’ve been forced to break health and safety rules to take contaminated rubbish back into their buildings, carry bags of waste through busy restaurants during service, while others have been left with no choice but to spend thousands on private refuse collections to fulfil their responsibility to the city.

The scheme will be rolled out to the north-west of the city by September 15, to the south of Glasgow by December and the north-east of the city by March 2, next year.

And today the Evening Times is calling on council chiefs to go back to the drawing board, and devise a scheme that keeps our streets and lanes clean while working for the city’s traders.

Donald MacLeod, owner of the Garage and Cathouse nightclubs, said: “The council’s ideas all seem good on paper but the mechanics of the scheme don’t work.

“We’ve had to bring in a private contractor because we don’t want rubbish strewn all over the streets – it’s not a good look.

“They’ve been completely cack-handed about the whole thing.

“We’re being forced to store rubbish, sometimes hazardous, inside the property and create places to store it.

“The main issue to me is the uplift times. They’re asking us to leave the rubbish out during times which aren’t convenient for us in terms of closing and cleaning up.

“Instead of doing it at night, they have chosen to do it when the public and tourists are coming into the city which is really unsightly.”

Waste is only allowed to be put out by businesses for up to one hour between 7.30am and 11am, and 5pm and 11pm, rules of the scheme dictate.

It must only be placed on the street when the business is staffed and can’t be left overnight.

Listed buildings, such as Gin71 on Renfield Street, face further issues through a lack of storage space for waste.

Owner Paul Reynolds said the changes have caused his refuse costs to sky-rocket from £700 to £1,900 a month.

He said: “I understand why the council wanted to do the scheme, and I support what they are trying to do, but the way it has been rolled out has been a nightmare.

“We’ve received no support, even though we’re still paying for the uplifts.

“We have a difficult building to work with – our bin bags have to be taken through the restaurant while people are eating.

“We get charged per bin bag and our costs have increased dramatically, which for a small business is really challenging.

“Some uplift companies have seen it as low-hanging fruit and are using it as a commercial opportunity.

“From a health and safety point of view it’s not good. It should have been set up a lot better.”

Elsewhere, manager of Solid Rock Cafe on Hope Street, Robert Alexander, has also slammed the scheme, and said he knew of businesses forced to breach health and safety guidelines to meeet the demands of the new rules. 

He added: “It hasn’t been given due diligence. We were told in February that we would have to comply by April, but we weren’t given any notice.

“We weren’t included in the pilot – which I’ve heard did not go well.

“I’ve contacted the council several times but they failed to get back to me. It’s reached the point where our glass bins are being left for 10 days at a time which for a bar is ridiculous.

“No one is taking any notice. I’m all for forward thinking but this just isn’t working.”

Bill Paterson, owner of Adventure 1, on Dundas Street, said their rubbish ‘seldom’ collected at the correct times.

He added: “I have phoned them on a few occasions to come and collect the rubbish only to be told to take the rubbish back into the shop.

“This is not possible at times as the rubbish bags become contaminated and the staff refuse to touch them.

“I have been fighting with the cleansing department for years just to try and get them to lift the bags. They were so poor we had to go private.”

Business leaders backed the changes, but warned that the city shouldn’t be afraid try other things.

Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said the previous policy was unsightly and bad for business.

He said: “This is one of those tricky situations. Did we like having all those large bins strewn across the streets?

“The intention was laudable. We supported the clear intention which was to improve the city centre.

“ For some smaller businesses there is an issue about space to store waste which is a problem. Traders are dependent on the waste collectors to turn up when contracted.

“The long-term solution should be better than putting bags out on the street.

“There are underground solutions but they are very expensive.

“We have to be listening to the concerns and the experience of traders and be prepared to adjust the policy if necessary.”

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council, said: “The commercial waste project has been a great success in the city centre, removing 1,800 bulky waste bins from the area, improving the environment and making streets more accessible for all.

“Its success and popularity with businesses and residents led to the roll-out of the scheme across the city, beginning in early April with the whole of Glasgow to be covered by March next year. As with any such project, occasional teething problems tend to happen, and we are working with all the commercial waste contractors to ensure operations work as smoothly as possible.

“We are confident that this project will leave Glasgow a cleaner, greener and safer place.”