A report which will be presented to the Transport and Environment Committee on October 29 recommends launching the pilot system in Leith Walk, the High Street and Rose Walk and the adjoining lanes in January 2014.
If approved, the pilot will mean businesses can only present waste onto the street for collection at specific times and will be expected to store bags and containers within their properties at other times. The council said similar policies have already been successfully introduced in the City of Westminster and Manchester.
A timed collection system was one of three optionswhich wereconsidered following a report from the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee in October 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story). The other options,to introduce a zero toleranceof any trade waste on the street, and a permit system, will not be pursued.
The zero tolerance option was dismissed following engagement with businesses and trade waste companies on the grounds that the trade waste firms say they do not currently have the capacity to collect waste from every business in Edinburgh.
Impact
“It is in the interests of businesses that Edinburgh remains a clean and beautiful city and they need to play their part.”
Lesley Hinds, Edinburgh council
Commenting on the councils plans, councillor Lesley Hinds, environment convener, said: “There has been an increasing number of trade waste containers being kept on the citys streets which is having an adverse impact on the citys appearance. There are also problems with litter escaping from trade waste bins that are overfull because they are not being serviced frequently enough or because businesses are leaving sacks of waste on the street overnight which makes them vulnerable to being ripped open by gulls and other animals.
It is in the interests of businesses that Edinburgh remains a clean and beautiful city and they need to play their part. We will be working with and supporting businesses in the pilot areas to comply with the timed collections and the pilots will allow everyone to assess how effective this approach is.
A report on the outcome of the pilots will be reported back to the committee towards the end of 2014.
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