New policy on trade waste bins starts today

01 May 2018

Businesses in Aberdeen city centre are being written to and will receive visits after a revised policy starts today which restricts hours that trade waste bins can be left on pavements.

The Commercial Waste Containers Policy was revised after a recent review of the city centre indicated a significant increase in commercial bins on pavements, in part caused by changes to waste legislation requiring businesses to make provision for recycling and food waste collections.

Commercial bins stored permanently on pavements detracts from efforts to keep our city clean, tidy and accessible. It was felt that the approach to date had not produced the necessary results which is why the strategy was reviewed.

The revised policy, which was passed by the City Council’s finance policy and resources committee on 1 February 2018, has the aim to work with businesses to reduce the number of commercial waste bins stored on city centre pavements.

Aberdeen City Council environment and waste spokesman Councillor Philip Bell said: “We are working together with partners and businesses to make the streets of our city centre cleaner, more attractive, and safer for pedestrians and members of the public.

“It had been noted there had been an increase of commercial waste bins in our city centre pavements and they are not helping to make the area attractive. Many businesses in the area have already welcomed the revised policy as they recognise that an attractive city centre is more likely to encourage people to use it for leisure or shopping.”

The revised policy is supported by the Federation of Small Businesses, and the city centre improvement district organisation, Aberdeen Inspired.

Adrian Watson, Aberdeen Inspired Chief Executive, said: “We welcome this updated policy and supports all efforts to make our city centre a more attractive and welcoming place for visitors.

“We encourage all businesses to support this policy and do everything they can to remove bulky trade waste bins being stored on our pavements.”

Denis Pinto, North East Area Leader for The Federation of Small Businesses, said: “We welcome the steps Aberdeen City Council is taking to improve the appearance of the city centre, which will hopefully enhance the area for businesses, residents and all those visiting the city.

“Clearly this policy will impact the varied city centre businesses differently and we look forward to working with Aberdeen City Council officials over the five-month implementation period to ensure those businesses, who have little or no alternatives to where they store bins are not penalised.”

Implementation of the revised policy is to start today, and commercial waste bins will not be permitted to be stored on pavements from 12.30pm to 2.30pm every day.

There will be a five-month introductory period during which businesses will be supported as they familiarise themselves with the provisions of the policy, and business names must be prominently displayed on each bin.

There will be the introduction of exemption certificates for businesses who have no alternative place to store bins, and fines and charges for the removal of unauthorised bins.

The City Warden team will be supporting the implementation of the new policy and there will be designated wardens available to visit and support businesses. They can be contacted by email at wastecompliance@aberdeencity.gov.uk. The City Council’s contact centre can also be contacted on 03000 200 292 from Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm.