New technology has been unveiled by City Council as Edinburgh residents vent their frustrations about overflowing rubbish and loose litter online.
“Rubbish is definitely an issue, and I think it’s a matter of taking the time to address it,” said Councillor Scott Arthur.
“Edinburgh has just been ranked the best city in the world for tourists, and I’m usually very proud of that, but I also feel a bit embarrassed sometimes about what people see when they come here.”
Smart bin sensors are now being rolled out to help tackle Edinburgh’s rubbish problem while the new city council awaits a ‘rubbish report’ in the Autumn to devise a long-term solution.
It’s an issue near and dear to many city residents. An unnamed source said he has lived in Edinburgh his whole life and has never seen the city as dirty and littered as it is now.
An entire Twitter profile is dedicated to documenting rubbish around the city, and plenty of concerned residents post photos of overflowing bins and litter daily. Arthur said he and the rest of Council are dedicated to improving the situation.
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The new smart bin sensors are a step in the right direction for waste management, according to Council Leader and Smart Cities Champion Cammy Day.
The council will install sensors in more than 11,000 communal and litter bins across the city. The sensors will provide the council with information about when bins are full, when they’re emptied and how often they’re used.
“Not only will they help us respond to overflowing bins more quickly but they will lead to more efficient waste collection routes, saving fuel and better diverting resources,” said Day.
Arthur explained that there are two main barriers to the current waste management regime. First, he pointed to the “crude behaviour of a minority of people that live in and visit the city” which leaves litter and improperly disposed of rubbish around the city.
Second, he said waste management faces general funding issues.
“The new committee recognises that the cleanliness of the city generally needs to improve, and we agreed before Christmas to produce a report on the different ways we can do that. Once we establish those options, we can decide how much money we need and what actions to take,” said Arthur.
Arthur and Day both agreed that waste management workers across Edinburgh are working flat out to make the city clean and welcoming.
“Our hard-working refuse collection staff have continued to provide a service throughout an extremely challenging few years, which understandably has had an impact. Our waste crews make around 26 million collections every year across a range of services, so it’s also worth noting that the number of complaints we receive is a tiny percentage of this,” said Day.
“I do recognise though that this is a key issue for residents, and we have already agreed to increase the level of scrutiny in this area to help ensure staff have the resources they need.”
The ‘rubbish report’ is due to the Council Transport and Environment Committee sometime in October, and it will look at litter, waste collection, servicing, fly tipping, general cleanliness and options for run down phones boxes and other similar infrastructure.
In the meantime, Day said the smart bin sensor technology will allow the council to deliver more proactive services and address the many challenges of a rapidly growing city.
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