Barrhead residents have slammed plans to cut public services by more than £30 million.
East Renfrewshire Council revealed details last month of drastic savings needed to meet the shortfall in their finances.
Now members of the town’s community council are to write to the local authority to detail their objections.
In particular, they are opposed to plans to have refuse collections – including grey, blue and green bins – every four weeks rather than three.
Brown bin collections, which include food and garden waste, will be every fortnight rather than weekly – with an increase in the annual charge of £20.
Local representatives are also opposed to plans to close the recycling site at Carlibar Road, in Barrhead.
Rosemarie McInally, chairperson of Barrhead community council, said that members who attended a meeting last Thursday were particularly horrified by the proposed cuts in refuse services.
She fears that the move to close the recycling centre will lead to an increase in fly tipping and rubbish dumping.
Rosemarie said: “If these cuts goes ahead, then it will be a total nightmare for the people of Barrhead.
“They will now have to go to the recycling centre in Newton Mearns to dump the rubbish, which is miles away, at a time when we are being encouraged to use our cars less.
“Given the money that East Renfrewshire Council has squandered over the years, we shouldn’t need to be having the cuts.
“Three-weekly refuse collections are bad enough but a four-week cycle would be a disaster. As always with these cuts, the people that can least afford them will be the hardest hit.”
East Renfrewshire Council has admitted that the savings will have a major impact on frontline services, with as many as 550 jobs at risk over the period of the next three years.
There could also be increases in burial charges, already among the highest in Scotland, while the price of school meals could go up by 20p a time.
The cuts are due to a reduction in government money which funds the vast majority of frontline services.
Only 18 per cent comes from council tax. Around £20m of the planned £30m savings could come from cuts in schools and nurseries.
There are plans for a reduction in the school week at primaries from 25 hours to 22.5 hours and police campus officers could be
axed.
There would also less funding to help less able pupils and those with special needs and a reduction in library staff, janitors, caterers and cleaners.
School crossing patrols could also be cut back. Further savings are planned by reducing money spent on repairing potholes and gritting roads.
An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “It is expected we will have a £30m budget gap over the next three years and a range of difficult decisions will need to be made, including considering cutting services and jobs.
“Savings proposals put forward at this stage are options, and councillors will not set the budget until March.”
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