A West End councillor has welcomed new bins in an area quite literally littered with waste problems.
Lib Dem Councillor Fraser Macpherson has welcomed Dundee City Council’s move to use new technology to provide a solution for litter problems on Riverside Drive.
And he feels the move has come just in time as the issue with the V&A expected to bring a large increase in people to the area.
‘Smart bins’ have been deployed in Dundee with sensors to alert waste services to empty the bins when they are full. Solar power is used to compact the waste, improving efficiency.
Mr Macpherson says the Riverside Drive area was much in need of the new bins, as the previous ones did not even have lids – making them easy prey for seagulls.
He said: “Residents have complained over a protracted period about the mess of litter on Riverside Drive towards the rail bridge. This has been caused mainly by litter being pulled out of bins by gulls, rather than people littering.
“The real cause of the problem is the lack of lids on the litter bins here and I asked the council to replace the current bins with ones with lids.
“The problem has been repeatedly and rightfully highlighted by the residents of the new apartments on Riverside Drive as they look right on to the area concerned.”
The introduction of ‘smart bins’ is part of the Scottish Cities Alliance, which is jointly funded by Dundee council and a European Regional Development Fund programme.
The programme encourages Scotland’s cities to work closely together in order to share ideas and reduce costs through economies of scale.
The total Smart Waste Project budget for Dundee is £250,000 over the period 2017-19, of which £150,000 will be contributed by Dundee City Council.
The local authority is collaborating with other cities in Scotland on how best to roll out the services.
