A Bannockburn resident has hit out after household rubbish was burned in a local park.
The resident, who doesn’t wish to be named, told the Observer that there are fears monthly bin collections are to blame for excess waste with some people taking their rubbish to the dump, while others are leaving bags at public bins - including at Ladywell Park.
But the council say the charred rubbish was stolen and burned in an act of vandalism.
Images shared on social media last week apparently show the aftermath of some household being set alight in the park, with concerns being raised over the proximity to recently-installed benches.
It has led to calls from the resident for the council to trial a three-weekly collection in Bannockburn in an effort to cut down on the amount of waste building up.
Following the incident - which took place on June 14 - the resident has since been in touch with a number of councillors seeking a solution to the bins issue, as well as contacting police over the damage done to the park.
The resident told the Observer: “The rubbish being burned was taken out of the litter bins in the park and set on fire between the football pitch and the new benches.
“If the household rubbish wasn’t there, then there wouldn’t be anything to set on fire; some in the community are using bins in the park to put their rubbish in, because they have no room in their bin.
“It’s just a bit frightening and it isn’t working at the moment but if things moved to three weeks, then maybe people would be able to manage.
“This isn’t something for my benefit or for anyone’s individual benefit, but it would help all of us.
“The chat is that there isn’t any money, but what are we all paying for if the council aren’t able to lift our bins?”
However, in response, a Stirling Council spokesperson disputed the account of the incident at the park given by the resident and instead said that the bins had been stolen from another nearby location and burned by vandals.
The spokesperson said: “Officers have cleared and repaired damage to the park after wheelie bins from the nearby pavilion were stolen and set alight in an act of vandalism.”
The dispute follows the decision by members at last week’s full meeting of Stirling Council to agree to a ‘review’ of the controversial monthly collections, which were introduced last year but which were a hot topic at the recent council elections.
