A ban on Angus residents using Dundee dumps will remain in place during a three-month bin strike.
Carnoustie independent councillor David Cheape urged Angus Council to liaise with its city counterparts and ask them to relax their newly-imposed restrictions during the looming disruption.
However, the administration said it had no plans to ask Dundee to reinstate its informal arrangement which used to allow Angus residents to cross the border to use skip sites at Baldovie and Riverside.
It’s likely any request would have fallen on deaf ears, since Dundee City Council has made it clear that its position has not changed.
Mr Cheape said: “The spirit of cooperation would be enhanced if Angus Council could liaise with Dundee City Council and ask them to lift the newly imposed ban on residents from outwith Dundee using either the Baldovie or Riverside general waste facilities and allow the informal arrangement to continue.
“This would be of particular value to residents of the Sidlaw area of Angus during the period of disruption, saving them having to drive to Monifieth to get rid of their general refuse bags which is surely something we’d want to avoid.”
A series of 48-hour stoppages will form part of three months of industrial action by binmen in Angus. The move is set to cause “significant disruption” to kerbside collections.
It comes ahead of a shift in working conditions, due to come into force on April 8, under which refuse workers will switch to a two-shift pattern, moving from the current 7am to 3pm arrangement to alternating 6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10pm collections.
Unite members voted for strike action last week, by 92% on a turnout of 87.2%, after raising concerns about the dangers of operating the service safely and effectively, and the negative impact the changes will have on employees’ work-life balance.
General waste skips will return to Angus recycling centres in Brechin, Carnoustie, Kirriemuir and Monifieth during the strike to reduce the impact of any missed kerbside collections.
Mr Cheape said the skips should be left in place.
“Their removal was a mistake and another example of an action being taken by the council without an economic impact assessment being undertaken,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity to rectify this on a permanent basis rather than simply as a temporary measure as a result of the strike.”
Angus Council communities convener Mark Salmond said the council was “acutely aware that the proposed industrial action will make recycling more challenging for our communities”.
He said: “This is why we have taken a pragmatic approach and put general waste skips back into Monifieth, Carnoustie, Kirriemuir and Brechin.
“It is a short term measure, purely aimed at reducing the impact of any missed kerbside collections.
“There are no plans to discuss any cross-border assistance with our local authority neighbours and the presence of the general waste skips are a clear indication of that.”
Recycling rates have increased from 47% to 58%, just weeks after changes were made at skip sites aimed at achieving planned savings of £250,000.
Angus Council said industrial action “may result in a pause to this progress” following the temporary return of general waste skips.
