There will be a meeting in the library at 7pm on 9th Sept to review the local plan produced following community workshops.  Key ideas are as follows :

The full plan is attached below.

Stirling Council is to introduce purple wheelie bins for glass and bottles.  This is due to the number of refuse workers suffering sore backs due to the weight of glass boxes

Full details are below :

A review of glass recycling will lead to improvements in the collection service for residents and result in annual savings of around £300,000.

At a meeting of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee today (Thursday, 28 August 2025), the changes were approved for implementation in December.

Currently, residents are asked to present their 55-litre blue boxes for glass recycling collection every four weeks.

Under the new system, 140-litre wheeled bins will be introduced to most households, with a collection frequency of every eight weeks. This will provide residents with 17% additional annual capacity for glass recycling.

Communal bins will also be provided at flatted developments, with the waste services team responsible for removing and returning the bins from their storage areas on collection days.

The cost of the new wheeled bins, approximately £845,000, will be met by the UK Government’s Extended Producer Responsibility funding scheme. The new bins will have a purple colour lid and will be delivered to households as part of the roll out of the collection changes. The current glass boxes will be uplifted and recycled.

The annual cost of the existing waste collection service is £5.1 million a year, but this will be reduced under the eight-weekly wheeled bin system to £4.8 million.

Cllr Jen Preston, convener of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero committee, said: “The new service will be more efficient and easier for residents to use. The new wheeled bins are smaller than the standard bins and take up the same footprint as the existing boxes. The 140-litre volume of the bin provides additional capacity for residents to recycle their glass, compared to the current box system.

“The bins will make it easier for the public to present their glass for recycling, removing the need for boxes to be lifted and carried to the kerbside. This will also benefit our waste services team through reduced manual handling and by avoiding tipping boxes into the vehicles, which can be a risk to health and safety.

“The cost of introducing the new system will be met by funding from the UK Government and the changes will save £300k per year in operating costs, which is a key consideration at a time when Council budgets are under great pressure.

“Residents will also continue to benefit from the availability of our 26 glass recycling sites across the Stirling area. From October, we will begin to communicate further details on the new system to residents, ahead of its introduction in December.”

The decision to review glass recycling collection was taken following a benchmarking exercise against other Scottish local authorities and a consideration of the various options available for glass recycling. It also supports the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, which encourages sustainability, re-use and recycling and fosters the promotion a circular economy.

The Environment, Transport and Net Zero committee meeting also heard the introduction of the new booking system at the Household Waste Recycling Centres at Lower Polmaise, Balfron and Callander has delivered significant benefits.

An evaluation of the booking system from May 2024, when it was first introduced, to April 2025, shows a reduction of 1,356 tonnes year-on-year – 23 per cent – of waste being sent to landfill, saving the Council approximately £177,000.

Closer monitoring of commercial customer waste shows an increase of 374 tonnes year-on-year  – 16 per cent – providing £32,000 in additional income.

A survey also shows Stirling residents have reported the booking system is simple and that site visits are quicker and more organised – with more than 80 per cent fairly satisfied (8.5 per cent) or very satisfied (76.3 per cent) with the new set-up.

In addition, there has been no impact on fly-tipping cases when comparing data from previous years.

Cllr Preston added: “We’re pleased the booking system has been well received by residents and is already delivering results that contribute towards our net zero ambitions. The system gives greater control of the HWRC locations and allows for more proactive staffing, monitoring and engagement.”