BLAIRDARDIE residents are furious after a Glasgow City Council rollout has left them facing the prospect of dragging wheelie bins down flights of steps.

The £6.5 million programme has been undertaken with a view to replacing metal bins, which are considered not fit for purpose and a potential cause of vermin due to their small size.

However, the plan has caused uproar in the district and in other parts of the city, such as Anniesland, where properties have been described as “unsuitable” for a 240-litre wheelie bin.

A resident, who lives in a middle terrace house on Sunnyside Road, cannot store her bin at the back of her property because she would need to pull it through the house and down 20 steps to get it the curb.

She said the change was “ridiculous” and told the Post: “I have no access. I’m not dragging that through my house.

“The problem with it being out on the pavement is that people will come and put their rubbish in your bin and it spills over. It’s pathetic.”

Meanwhile, Eric Flack, the secretary of Blairdardie and Old Drumchapel Community Council, added: “The whole of Sunnyside Drive has that issue on one side of the drive. How can you fit eight wheelie bins in a terraced house? The back lanes are overgrown and unsuitable.

“They’re not terribly accessible so the bin men aren’t using them. You can’t take a 240-litre green wheelie bin full of rubbish from your door down the steps.”

Munro Place in Anniesland is another address which has been pinpointed as a problem because the wheelie bins are causing an obstruction in back courts.

Councillor Paul Carey warned the council they would continue to see similar issues throughout the city.

He also called for greater communication from council officers, who he claimed had not properly consulted residents before the programme was rolled out.

He said: “Officers were instructed that there would be properties that they would need to continue to pick up the rubbish.

“For example, on Sunnyside Drive there are 20 or 30 steps up to the house and it’s impossible to drag their bin down the steps.

“How do they expect a disabled person or elderly person to carry that bin out?”

While uplift assistance is available to the disabled and infirm, Cllr Carey claimed those eligible were not identified before the changes, meaning wheelie bins have landed on their doorsteps without warning.

He continued: “They’re trying to identify the people who qualify now, instead of doing that prior to rolling the bins out.

“The point I’m making is that these problems were highlighted before it was carried out and the officers have failed to communicate with residents.

“They have failed to address the issues such as the elderly, people with disabilities and people who have no access. They were told to contact the residents and they failed to do that.

“They have not engaged with residents prior to rolling out the bin programme and that was what they were instructed to do.”

Councillor Anna Richardson, Glasgow City Council convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, said: “This is a three-year programme to replace 50,000 old-fashioned metal tin bins at flatted properties with ones fit for modern day purpose.“Officers are in regular contact with residents in the area and will continue to work with them to ensure an agreeable method of bin uplift.

“We’ve had very positive feedback from residents, housing associations and community councils who are delighted with the new bins, back court improvements and ability to recycle more.

“We continue to engage with residents prior to the replacement bins being provided to ensure that any issues raised are appropriately addressed.”