World leaders from 120 countries will arrive in Glasgow for the start of the COP26 climate conference later this month - but risk being greeted by a city where binmen and cleaners are on strike, tourist attractions are closed and rail services cancelled.
Pictures have shown the grim reality of every corner of Scotland's second city being blighted with rubbish, fly-tipping and bins overflowing over recent months after the SNP-controlled council decided to move once-fortnightly collections back by an extra week.
And the situation could soon worsen, with 1,500 refuse workers, school cleaners and cooks who are members of the GMB union set to join bin men and ScotRail staff on strike because of an ongoing pay dispute, with 96.9 per cent of returned ballots backing industrial action.
The action is slated for the first two weeks of November, when world leaders from Boris Johnson to US President Joe Biden will be in town for one of the most consequential climate summits in history. Scenes of waste-strewn streets would be a fresh blow to the summit, which has already been hit by news President Xi of China may not attend.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously cited Covid quarantine restrictions as a reason he might not attend the conference, but has since confirmed his attendance.
Pictures have shown the grim reality of every corner of Scotland's second city being blighted with rubbish, fly-tipping and bins overflowing in recent months (this image shows fly-tipping in Cranhill)
Workers remove bath tubs, window frames, mattresses, broken furniture and construction waste dumped underneath the M8 motorway on September 15
Flytipping has skyrocketed in the city since a £35 bulk waste charge was implemented by Glasgow City Council in April. Above: Litter is left in Camlachie area of east Glasgow
Glasgow City Council, run by the SNP, rubberstamped plans to make refuse collections happen every three weeks in April and introduced a new £35 charge for 'bulk items', which has prompted a marked increase in fly-tipping.
Refuse collectors have warned of an impending health and safety disaster - pointing to the ever-increasing risk of Weil's disease, which can be passed on to humans through rat urine.
Ms Sturgeon, 51, and her party have faced criticism from leaders across the political spectrum, including Labour's Keir Starmer who warned Glasgow was 'in a waste crisis' earlier this summer.
Thomas Kerr, the Conservative leader on Glasgow's council, added: 'We’ve become the fly-tipping capital of Britain and host the UK’s fourth-highest population of rats. That’s the legacy of Glasgow’s first Nationalist council.'
It comes as 1,500 Glasgow City Council staff in the refuse,
