A big change is coming for Dundee’s household bin collection service – with the city council refusing to pick up extra bags of waste, or ‘side waste’.
The move – which will come into force in the second half of this year – is designed to improve recycling rates.
While some insist it will be good for the environment, others claim it could lead to more flytipping.
We have been gauging the response of locals after the local authority’s announcement on Thursday.
Bin changes: The case for
Derek Hughes believes people need to “wise up” when it comes to how they use waste facilities.
He wrote: “I live alone and my landfill bin was barely a third of capacity when emptied this week.
“I would have no objection if my neighbours with large households put overflow waste in my bin.”
Meanwhile Pete Swift has accused people of not doing enough to help the environment.
He posted: “People need to stop being lazy and recycle properly – we have three adults in our home and usually struggle to fill one grey bin every fortnight.
“The amount of houses I see locally who have overflowing grey bins but never put out a blue or burgundy one is shocking in this day and age.”
And Jillian Elizabeth says “our rubbish is our responsibility, because we are the ones creating it”.
She added: ” Stop buying things in plastic, reduce as much waste as you can coming into your house and recycle as much as you can and you won’t have an overflowing bin.
“I have no recycle bins where I live so I just walk to the next one or pop my recycling in my car, and next time I’m out I’ll put it in a recycle bin when I pass it.”
Andrew Gourlay, 28, said he felt people would “adapt” to the new system once it was rolled out.
He added: “I don’t think people are recycling enough in general. By enforcing this measure it will mean people will need to adapt and it will become the new norm.
“There maybe are certain generation that will be more sceptical about the changes but I can see the sense in implementing this.”
Bin changes: The case against
John Donnelly from the Blackness area believed people were “trying” to recycle as he shared his views on the upcoming changes.
He added: “People are trying in general to recycle in most cases I believe.
“The Eurobins haven’t been a good addition though. We regularly have people who don’t live here dumping their rubbish into our bins.
“If this ‘side waste’ is left people will just dump the rubbish elsewhere.
“The Eurobins launch should serve as a benchmark that the recent changes haven’t been for the better.
“I just can’t see how these new changes are going to help improve the overall situation at the moment.”
Posting on Facebook, Tracey Carroll wrote: “And they wonder why people flytip… I pass large bins on the roadside completely full and loads of bags etc lying around them – surely there’s a health and safety risk to this.”
Jade Kennedy also believes it will become “an excuse for more people to flytip”.
Cutbacks to council services have irked Angie Livingstone, who wrote: “So rather than pick it up and throw it in lorry they are going to pick it up and put it back in the bin?
“Next time they collect there will be bags again. I think it’s called a vicious circle?”
Zena Hepburn, 68, from Menzieshill felt the changes would “encourage” more fly-tipping.
She added: “We’ve got the Eurobins now and my immediate concern with this new ‘side waste’ policy is that folk will take their rubbish else where to dump.
“In our area we regularly see people coming from other areas to dispose of their waste in our Eurobins – they are always a mess.
“We regularly recycle but I can’t see this measure encouraging those who don’t to start recycling anytime soon.”
Isobel Gardiner, 74, described the new policy as a “recipe for disaster” before saying there should be more public consultation by the local authority regarding the matter.
She added: “They are asking for trouble if this gets launched.
“It is a total recipe for disaster.
“The streets – in my view – are already a mess. Putting this in won’t change people who don’t already recycle.
“Maybe a fining policy would be something they could implement to clamp down on repeat offenders .
“There really should have been more public engagement before they unveiled this policy.”
VIDEO: Watch as brazen lorry driver repeatedly dumps waste at Dundee estate then drives off