A fed-up business owner is blaming South Ayrshire Council for the build-up of litter after workmen removed a static bin.
Liz Murphy claims dog poo bags are among the filthy items dumped outside her convenience store in Northfield Drive, Ayr.
Now she wants the local authority to reinstate the bin to the pavement — and ensure it’s emptied as before.
She said: “We had a public rubbish bin but the guys from the council took it away.
“It’s not just the rubbish that concerns me, it’s the dog poo bags which have been left outside the shop.
“People are just throwing things down because the bin’s not there any more.
“We had a bin up until March last year, then it went away because it was broken.
“Because of Covid, the rubbish was not getting uplifted the same is it was previously.
“Then we got a bin back about a month ago and that was fine; people were using it, dog poo bags were going into it.
“But now the council decided to remove it again and sent somebody down to take it away a couple of weeks ago.
“Workmen told my husband, ‘I’m sorry, we’ve been told by our boss to take it away.’”
Now Liz, 67, and her husband have been left to clean up the mess themselves.
She said: “It’s a far from ideal situation
“We sell food in our store so there’s no way I’d pick up dog poo bags.”
Liz reckons the problem is more widespread too.
She said: “And the people who are next door to us, rubbish has been found in their garden too. It’s more widespread, so we just want the council to supply a bin on a regular basis.”
Northfield Stores has been in the community for the last 17 years but Liz thinks the public rubbish bin was there even longer.
She said: “We have been operating for 17 years and we’re well established. Before us, the shop was in the hands of Indians, then it was an Italian.
“As far as we know that bin was there for 36 years.
“We’re just asking for the bin to be reinstated and for it to be emptied on a regular basis.”
A South Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We would ask that people always dispose of their rubbish responsibly to avoid the build-up of litter.
"There are plenty of public bins in the Northfield Park area and these are emptied regularly.
"The bin outside the shop was put on private land without prior agreement so had to be removed, however, we understand the shop owners are looking to install their own bin."
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