Mid Craigie tenants have claimed rubbish woes are being ignored by the local authority – so much so that a resident has become a makeshift street cleaner.
Karen Dixon and her husband John have lived in the scheme for the past 20 years and cited a lack of bin provisions and reduced street cleaning as the cause of the constant mess at Valgreen Court and Leyshade Court.
The couple contacted Dundee City Council after five bags of rubbish were collected in the space of the hour in recent days.
Karen revealed her husband has been doing litter picking for a number of years to “keep a bit of pride” in the area but they’ve become exasperated by the response of Dundee City Council.
‘I’m contacting the paper out of frustration’
“We’ve been contacting Dundee City Council continuously about the ongoing problems,” she said.
“The cuts to council services are definitely the main factor in this, we occasionally see the odd street cleaner but there is also a lack of bin provisions.
“It’s got to the point where I think its just being ignored. My husband is doing the litter picking himself and has been for the last two years.
“Those five bags were collected earlier this month and that was just within an hour, a lot of glass, rubbish and dog waste.
“The only reason he does it is cause he cares and he wants to take a bit of pride in the area.
“I’m contacting the paper out of frustration just to highlight it.”
Karen said other neighbours have sympathised about the ongoing dog fouling situation in particular in the local streets.
‘Why bother?’
“I’ve noticed a real difference in the last five years around here for sure, with dog waste and rubbish,” she said.
“There maybe is other areas of Dundee that will sympathise but we do feel Mid Craigie is being neglected.
“The reason we’ve noticed it more is that we are always out and about with our dogs.
“We’ve seen people chucking rubbish out of their cars when they’ve been to the nearby takeaways.
“I think when people see the rubbish building-up they just think ‘why bother?’
“Living here for as long as we have it’s sad to see it like this.
“It’s a big area, with new houses still being built and I don’t think having one street cleaner to cover it is enough.
“I’ve emailed the council countless times about the rubbish, dangerous broken glass and rubbish near the kids park but I’ve never had a response.”
‘It’s a shared responsibility’
Neighbourhood Services Convener Anne Rendall echoed the disappointment of the residents in the litter being left.
She added: “Through our Take Pride in Your City Campaign we aim to make everyone in Dundee aware that they have a shared responsibility for the cleanliness of the city.
“It is never acceptable to litter when out and about and rubbish should be disposed of appropriately, whether that is in one of the many public street bin and recycling points located around the city or by residents disposing of their litter at home using domestic bins.
“We are working proactively to reduce waste around Dundee, by working with the local community, volunteers and local businesses to make Dundee a better place to live.”
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