It is a rubbish job but how could anyone refuse the chance to tackle the problem of one of Inverness’s most pressing eyesores?
The proliferation of bins on the city centre streets has caused considerable consternation among businesses and councillors for some time and now a new position will be created to try and find the solution.
Now Highland Council and Inverness Bid will jointly fund a graduate intern to carry out an analysis of waste storage and collection in the city centre, with hopes of reducing the number of bins littering the streets.
Yesterday city councillors hit out at the state of the streets, with one senior member labelling the bins a “total eyesore”.
Speaking at a meeting of the Inverness area committee, Alasdair Christie, Inverness West, said: “You can be walking along through the city centre and then you turn into Baron Taylor Street for example and there’s bins everywhere, large bins at that.
“They are a total eyesore seeing them all lined up at the side of the street.”
His views were echoed by a number of members of the committee.
Councillor Jim Crawford, Inverness South, suggested communal bins, emptied more often, could be the way to reduce the number of residential bins in the city centre.
Councillor Donnie Kerr, Inverness Central, said that he was “rather disappointed” that action had not been taken sooner.
The graduate post is currently being advertised and will ultimately be tasked with reporting options for change and outline costs back to the council.
Inverness Bid chairman, Craig Duncan said: “All the feedback from the public and businesses alike has highlighted the need to seek improved solutions to the current waste arrangements in the city centre.
“We have been in discussion with Highland Council on this issue for some time and when we were asked to financially support this review to be undertaken by them, we had no hesitation in doing so given the importance of finding a way forward.”