A meeting of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero committee today (Thursday, February 1 2024) approved the move, which will take effect from 1 May 2024.
Stirling Council provides household recycling facilities for its residents at three locations and the introduction of an online booking system for Lower Polmaise and Callander brings those sites into line with the centre at Balfron, where it has been in operation since June 2020.
Under the terms of its licence from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Council’s HWRCs are only allowed to accept household waste. Commercial operators are directed to the Operational Weighbridge, also at Lower Polmaise.
Proactive
The move to an online booking system, increasingly common across Scottish local authorities, will ensure the HWRCs are accessed only by Stirling Council residents, reducing indiscriminate use by commercial operators seeking to dispose of waste from trade services.
Entry to HWRCs will remain free of charge for residents.
Convener of the Environment, Transport and Net Zero committee, Cllr Jen Preston, said: “A booking system for all vehicles will give greater control of the HWRC locations and allow for more proactive staffing, monitoring and engagement.
“Appropriate use of the HWRCs will result in an increase in recycling rates and contribute to our net zero ambitions in line with our climate and nature emergency plan. It will also lead to a reduction in the cost of disposing of indiscriminate waste from commercial vehicles, maximising the operational efficiency of the sites and minimising waiting times for residents.
“We want all residents in the Stirling area to have a positive experience when visiting our HWRC sites and we will correspond directly with them on fuller details around the changes before they are introduced in May.”
Communities
Direct engagement with local residents will begin shortly, including details of how to book and a full list of FAQs. There will be no change to the current opening times of the three HWRC sites, but these will be reviewed at an early stage to ensure recycling services continue to meet the needs of local communities.
A recording of the meeting can be viewed at: Home - Stirling Council streaming (public-i.tv)
The agenda for the meeting can be found at: Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee meeting agenda | Stirling Council Minutes Archive