Glasgow City Council announces Christmas and New Year 2024/2025 bin collection details as some Glaswegians to go '7 weeks' without bin collections

Some residents in Glasgow are set to go ‘7 weeks’ without a bin collection as Glasgow City Council announces the schedule for bin collections over the festive season.

As expected, public holidays on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and January 2 will affect the delivery of refuse collections due to take place on these days.

Though Glasgow City Council claim that this year there will be a ‘focus on minimising the impact of the festive holidays on residents of flatted properties, where most of the city's waste is generated.’

Those in flatted properties can expect their recycling bins to be emptied in advance of Christmas Day, freeing up capacity for paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and tins or cans generated by festive celebrations.

The council also claim staff will be in place to support households with vulnerable people in multi-storey flats and households that generate large amounts of medical waste on Boxing Day and January 2.

Those living in houses with kerbside collection expected on December 25 or 25, or January 1 or 2, will not see a collection on these dates. These residents are asked to present their bins on the next collection day instead.

This is expected to affect a lot of Glaswegian residents. In Glasgow almost 68% of homes are flats with houses or bungalows making up just over 31% of the city's housing stock.

The revised dates for these flats can be read below, and more information can be found by clicking here.

Those living in affected houses will see any excess waste removed at their next collection day. But residents are also being urged to ‘use the full extent of the recycling capacity available to them for general waste, glass, food and garden waste (where a permit applies) and options for recycling paper and cardboard as well as plastic and metal containers.’

Glasgow City Council is urging these residents to use Glasgow City Council’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres, which will re-open on Boxing Day and January 2.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "We know that stopping bin collection services over the Christmas and New Year period can cause a lot of disruption for affected residents, especially those living in flats and tenements.

"We are aiming to minimise the overall impact felt by the loss of service this festive season by focusing additional effort on back courts and public sites, where excess waste can build-up quickly and cause environmental problems.

"To support this approach we are asking residents who are scheduled to receive a kerbside collection on any of the public holidays to wait until their next scheduled dates before putting their bins on the pavement for collection.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause for those affected, but residents can be assured any excess or build-up of waste will be removed on their next collection day. We hope these residents will make full use of their recycling bins and compact their waste as far as possible to make the most of their available bin capacity.

"Opening for our public waste centres will be also extended to help residents manage any build-up of waste over the holiday period."

Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for the Glasgow region, has raised serious concerns over reports that pavement bin collections in Glasgow scheduled for Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, and January 2 will be missed, meaning some households will not have their bins collected for a period of up to seven weeks.

The MSP has written to Councillor Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, to voice these concerns and ask what steps the council is taking to address this issue for the people of Glasgow.

Commenting, Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “The council’s decision to ask people in Glasgow whose collections will be missed over the festive period to leave their rubbish out on the next collection day, leaving people waiting up to seven weeks for collection, is completely unacceptable.

“The impact of this decision will be felt by everyone, but particularly those without cars or other means of gathering their rubbish and transporting it to the dump, meaning it will disproportionately affect older residents and disabled people. Rubbish piling up on the streets is not only unpleasant but is also a health hazard for both residents and cleansing workers.

“The council must explain what steps it is taking to address this issue for my constituents in Glasgow”.