Council chiefs are preparing to launch a rubbish bag blitz to protect Perth streets from scavenging gulls.
The £63,000 scheme aims to end years of complaints about refuse sacks being torn open, leaving a mess of discarded packages, tins and teabags throughout the city centre.
Later this month, more than 90 skip-style containers will be installed at “bin hubs” around the Fair City.
Residents will be encouraged to dispose of their rubbish in their nearest container, instead of leaving sacks for collection on the kerbside.
Locals have been warned that after Friday, November 15, any rubbish sacks left out will be treated as fly-tipping and could lead to prosecution.
Letters have also gone out to city centre businesses, pointing out the bin hubs are for residents only.
A spokesman for the local authority’s commercial waste team warned: “It is illegal to dispose of commercial waste through the domestic waste stream… Regular inspections will be carried out and the appropriate action taken regarding any incorrect waste presentation in Perth city centre and the surrounding area.”
In a report to the council’s environment committee, community waste adviser Lucy Garthwaite said: “Residents migrating to the new service would no longer be required to present their waste to the pavement twice weekly, or store waste between collections.
“Instead, they would use a communal bin to dispose of their waste whenever was convenient to them.”
She said: “By providing residents with a convenient way to dispose of their domestic waste, this proposal will mean that no bin bags should be left on the pavements to be uplifted by the bin crews.
“This will reduce manual handling for the crews and will also greatly assist the street sweeping teams who frequently have to be diverted from normal duties to collect bags that are presented too late for collection, or on the wrong day or where bags have been ripped.”
The number of 1,280-litre containers at each point is calculated based on each household producing about 240 litres of rubbish per week, approximately two or three sackfuls.
Ms Garthwaite’s report states that bin hubs will be placed away from shops and ground floor properties.
The new containers will not block parking spaces, she said.
The scheme was backed by councillors in 2018, but it does not address concerns about a lack of city centre recycling services.
