City's rubbish uplift costs are among the highest in Scotland

Published on Wednesday 13 January 2010 08:59

THE cost of collecting Edinburgh's rubbish is among the highest in Scotland, adding fuel to calls to privatise the service.

New analysis of Audit Scotland figures shows that refuse collection is one of 13 service areas where Edinburgh's performance is worse than other similar councils.

Picking up domestic waste costs 62.56 per home in Edinburgh, higher than all but one of Scotland's nine "urban" councils. Only East Dunbartonshire spends more.

The total cost to the taxpayer of collecting the Capital's rubbish was 14.7 million in 2008-9, and it is expected to rise further this year when the cost of private firms assisting during the six-month industrial dispute is included.

City leader Jenny Dawe admitted that the high cost of the service when compared with other councils will influence the discussion on whether to change the way the service is provided.

Refuse collection is among 17 services that private firms have been invited to bid for as part of the council's "alternative business models" process.

Councillor Dawe said: "I don't know what the results of that (alternative business models] exercise will be but, in refuse, the fact that the net cost does not compare well with others will be a factor in deciding whether alternative delivery models will give us a better service."

The total cost of bin collections per premises in Glasgow was 55.42 in 2008-9. The cheapest authority was West Dunbartonshire at only 43.51 per premises.

The figures are sure to upset residents who have seen severe disruption to bin collections during the cold weather and an ongoing work-to-rule by council bin men.

The city council said it is in the process of trying to make its service cheaper by changing working practices. However, Edinburgh provides a more frequent refuse collection service than some councils, which impacts the price, as well as costs associated with being a world heritage site.

The cost of refuse collection was one of 75 performance areas where the city council was ranked against other local authorities.

In two out of every five service areas, the council was judged to be among the best local authorities, while it was among the worst in nearly one in five areas.

The council's performance in 45 areas has improved since last year, including the percentage of top-paid staff who are women and the number of abandoned vehicles removed within two weeks.

But performance declined in 23 areas, including the cost of council tax collection and the time taken to complete community service.

Jim Inch, the council's director of corporate services, said: "The data suggests that good progress is being made.

Achieving the objective of being a top performing council will require a commitment to continuous improvement in all services, as well as targeted action in key areas."