The council has decided to trial the new scheme we reported on last week, and traders will have to comply with new rules about when their waste will be collected in three areas of the city from January next year.
The motion was as follows:-
It is recommended that the Committee:
- a) agrees to trialling timed trade waste collections in Rose Street (and its lanes), the High Street and Leith Walk for a period of up to nine months commencing 6th January 2014;
- b) notes the intention to produce progress reports for this committee on the outcome of the pilots before and after the Summer Festival Period.
- c) notes the importance of having a compliance team in place to provide information and enforcement and to support the implementation of the pilots.
The Green Group offered an addendum to the administration motion asking the council to trial zero waste options. The Convenor resisted this as it would be confusing. She insisted on giving clear direction to the council officers that the option adopted by the council is the one which is now agreed upon, rather than continue to consider other options already discounted. The Greens withdrew their motion.
The council has undertaken that the existing environmental wardens will deal with the enforcement of this scheme. The council also plan to encourage traders in streets to get together and enter into one contract with trade waste companies for each area. This would mean that there would be one company removing waste from certain areas rather than a mass of different vehicles trying to gain access to some narrow streets.
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