By Gordon McColm

Local authorities may be forced to further limit their Waste Collection services to reduce risk and alleviate pressure on staff. East Dunbartonshire Council announced last night they would no longer collect recycling from residents.

Currently all three Ayrshire councils have closed their Recycling Centres until further notice and have suspended the collection of garden waste.

East Ayrshire Council announced earlier today that they would also suspend the collection of recycling waste in a post on their website.

When asked for comment, East Ayrshire Council were unable to provide a response beyond their post and said “services are under extreme pressure trying to ensure they keep ticking over with fewer and fewer staff available”.

South Ayrshire Council were also unable to provide a response to the potential change but has said any updates will be communicated through its dedicated page here. Updates for North Ayrshire are found here.

Gavin White owns a gardening business and warned those thinking of starting a compost en lieu of disposing of food in general waste bins. He expects those looking to start to be doing there research to prevent any damage to their gardens with food they throw out. There’s also the risk of enticing wildlife into the garden and creating a potential problem with pests.

If you invite them into your garden the next place they’re gonna look at is your home.

Gavin White, on composting attracting wildlife to gardens

For Stewart Moir, who runs Moir Environmental, there are concerns that as the Waste industry is forced to cut back because of the outbreak, that environmental responsibilities could slacken. It’s something he last saw happening during the financial crash as some stopped essential work.

“Environmental pollution may increase if people go back to not doing stuff [essential maintenance]”

Stewart Moir, on the challenges facing the Waste Disposal industry

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) declined to comment on the potential wider impact to the environment. They too are under increased pressure with a reduced workforce stating “…in the current situation we need to ensure our staff are available to fulfil essential operational roles”