Glasgow’s overnight street cleansing team has doubled in size following investment by the council.

The budget for 2025/26 committed £7m for frontline services and the creation of 200 new posts in street cleansing and parks operations.

After a highly successful recruitment campaign earlier this year, staff numbers have been boosted with forty new posts added to the night shift at the council’s street cleansing operation. The new starts bring the night-shift team up to 80 members of staff in total.

The significant expansion of this specialist team will allow more street cleansing tasks to be completed at night, ensuring that Glasgow is in the best possible condition by the start of the following morning.  It will also help the street cleansing tackle the aftermath of major events at night that attract thousands of people and can generate tonnes of waste.

Cllr Laura Doherty, City Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets, welcomed the arrival of new recruits as a major step forward for the commitments made in the budget earlier this year.

She said: “The £7m investment made in our frontline services has allowed us to make a significant expansion to our street cleansing and parks operations.

“We’ve drafted forty of those new recruits into our night shift team as this will help us maximise our investment as far as possible. We know our teams can work very effectively overnight as the streets are quieter and they can get about the city more quickly.

“Doubling the size of the street cleansing team will mean our staff can get through more of the work that matters to our residents – picking litter, power washing, street sweeping and emptying bins.

“People may not see our expanded night shift team going about their work, but I am very confident they will see difference in the condition of the city.

“We’ve invested in our street cleansing service because we know this is a priority for local residents. Our investment, and the hard work of our staff, will help provide us with cleaner, safer streets throughout Glasgow and a city centre we can be proud of.”

The £7m investment in frontline services will also ensure a deep clean team for all of Glasgow’s 23 council wards. Deep clean teams tackle overgrown vegetation, weeds, stubborn litter in hard to reach places, built-up detritus and other environmental issues.

The investment will also allow for a neighbourhood clean team in all 23 council wards to provide a rapid response to local environmental concerns such as fly-tipping, litter and spillages.