An MSP has repeated calls for East Renfrewshire Council to revert to pre-Covid arrangements at a local recycling facility in Newton Mearns.
When Covid emerged, the local authority introduced a booking system for visits to the Greenhags recycling centre.
The booking system was put in place to ensure that pandemic restrictions could be observed at the centre and to maintain social distancing.
Local MSP, Jackson Carlaw has again written to the council’s Environment Service to highlight that all legal Covid restrictions in Scotland expired at the start of May 2022 and he has called for the booking system to be scrapped.
Mr Carlaw made previous representation to the local authority in 2023 and 2024 to raise concerns about the council preventing access to the site unless an East Renfrewshire resident had first reserved a booking slot online.
The council has decided to stick with the booking system for a number of reasons including that it stops people, who do not live in East Renfrewshire, from using the centre and to avoid congestion both within the site and on the access road to the facility.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Eastwood, Jackson Carlaw said:
“Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the arrangements at Greenhags always worked successfully when I made use of the recycling centre and I do not recall encountering serious problems with the flow of vehicles at the site.
“Indeed, the Newton Mearns recycling facility operated in a fairly fluid manner and I am concerned that the opportunities for Eastwood residents to visit Greenhags continues to be determined by what slots remain available through the online booking system.
“It is now almost four years since the final Covid restrictions were removed and in my view, the council is unnecessarily restricting the freedom of local people to access Greenhags by maintaining the booking system.
“I am strongly of the view that the requirement to reserve a booking slot before arriving at Greenhags should be scrapped and I urge the council to revisit the issue.”
