THERE'S a £300,000 plan to hide our rubbish under Dunfermline High Street.

Local SNP councillor Derek Glen has suggested copying cities in Spain and putting our waste out of sight, below the ground.

If the proposal is approved Fife Council will spent £300,000 on a demonstrator pilot for a large scale, commercial solar compactor.

Cllr Glen's report explained: "This will replace most of the residential and retail bins, enabling the removal of the plastic wheelie bins which currently clutter the High Street and cause issues for off-street storage between collections.

"Initial trials are likely to be overground, potentially sited in either the Glen Bridge car park or at Walmer Drive.

Dunfermline Press: SNP councillor for Dunfermline Central, Derek Glen. SNP councillor for Dunfermline Central, Derek Glen. (Image: Fife Council)

"Once established, the expectation is that its long-term location would be underground, potentially as part of the redevelopment of the City Square gap site."

The idea came from Sandy Anderson and his environmental services team at the council.

It's already been tried down south, with Liverpool Council tackling the age-old problem of unsightly refuse and litter on its streets in 2022 by spending £1.5m on 'subterranean super-bins'.

READ MORE: Fife Council's trial of solar smart bins is 'huge success'

Councillors said that, as well as improving the appearance of the city, it helped reduce the issue of waste spilling from bins and ripped black bin bags, which would require extra clean-up resources to be deployed.

It was also credited with cutting secondary waste-related issues such as rats, flies and smells.

The proposal for Dunfermline is contained within the SNP proposals for Fife Council's general fund revenue budget, which will be set on Thursday.

Dunfermline Press: Councillor Glen has suggested a solar compactor could go under the new city square in Dunfermline.Councillor Glen has suggested a solar compactor could go under the new city square in Dunfermline. (Image: Fife Council)

Cllr Glen's report added: "This presents a potential future income stream from commercial premises using the facility.

"And although commonplace in Europe, particularly in Spain, this innovation would be the first of its kind in Scotland and would bolster Dunfermline’s - and Fife’s - efforts to reach not only net zero, but net positive in tackling the climate emergency."