Edinburgh restaurant boss raging as council sticks bin hub next to outdoor seating

Worried owners of a tapas restaurant in Newington are fearing a drop in custom after a controversial ‘bin hub’ was out next to their outdoor seating area.

Spanish eatery Tapas3, on Howden Street, opened in 2020 and has become a popular addition to the neighbourhood's international food scene.

But the family business is worried the close proximity of the bins may deter customers from eating outside in the summer months.

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Co-owner of Tapas3 Saliha Haouachi said: “It seems like businesses have been overlooked. Nobody wants to talk about them. Usually they are small businesses, family businesses like us and it’s really difficult to have a voice."

Ms Haouachi already feared the bins could place the survival of the business in doubt in March. At that time only non-recyclable waste and glass recycling bins were placed outside.

Since then, general recycling and food waste bins have been added. Ms Haouachi fears the new bins will attract pests including birds and flies.

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She claimed the location of the bins also leaves less room for outdoor seating and makes parking access for delivery drivers more difficult - both of which negatively affect the business.

And Ms Haouachi complained the new bins are emptied too irregularly and often overflow - and said the previous refuse system on the street worked better. She added: “In 2019, the council decided businesses should have their bins within the premises, so all our bins were downstairs.

"Once a week we have to move all our bins upstairs and put them on the street. We don’t use those [new] bins. Why should they be in front of us?”

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The location of bin hubs outside residents’ homes has already been a point of controversy with Edinburgh locals - and Ms Haouachi argued the effect on local businesses has yet to be considered.

She claimed due consideration was not paid to business owners during the consultation process and added: “They know there’s something wrong, but no one wants to take responsibility for it.” She said Tapas3 owners remain open to further consultation with the council.

Edinburgh Council officials insist strict standards were adhered to when locating the bin hub: A spokesperson for the authority added: “When selecting bin hub locations, colleagues apply the approved criteria to ensure each location is suitable.

“This location meets the criteria by providing full usage of waste and recycling services, sufficient capacity and it reduces the need for residents to walk further than 50 metres or cross a road to dispose of their waste or recycling.

“We have a framework, approved by committee last May, which we use to investigate all requests for alternative locations and where we can accommodate these we will.

“This allows us to be as flexible as possible and fair to all residents. We have used this criteria and relocation was considered in March as a result.

“The project team reviewed all feedback and advised me that several objections were received to the proposed relocation of the bin hub. As such, it was decided to retain the current location.”