A chatbot service on West Dunbartonshire Council's website that helps people whose bins haven't been collected is up for a national award.

The virtual bot takes residents through a series of questions to report their missed collection and attempt to resolve the issue.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has announced its finalists for the Excellence Awards 2024, including the bin service.

As one of three finalists for the 'service innovation and improvement' category, the council will now be invited to present their project to a panel of judges in August.

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Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at COSLA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition on Thursday, September 19 at the Crieff Hydro Hotel in Perthshire.

A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: “We are delighted that this important project has been nominated for a COSLA Excellence Award. The chatbot has strengthened existing processes by offering residents a simple platform to report missed bins quickly and easily, while also providing real-time status updates to keep them informed throughout.

“Since its implementation in February, this initiative has enhanced resident satisfaction, reduced pressure on our busy contact centre and streamlined the action required for the waste team, and we are pleased this has been recognised at such an early stage.”

Councillor Shona Morrison, COSLA’s president and chairperson of the Excellence Awards, said: “Firstly, I’d like to offer congratulations to our 15 finalists. Getting through to the final part of this awards process is no small feat, so I hope you are feeling incredibly proud of getting this far and I am really looking forward to seeing the presentations in a few weeks.

"The judging teams have let me know that the calibre of applications this year was extremely high, so I sincerely thank everyone who took the time to put in an application.

“The COSLA Excellence Awards are a highlight of my year and it’s always inspiring to hear so many positive and innovative projects coming from across Scottish local government. In such a challenging time for councils, it cannot be underestimated how much these teams and the services they offer are relied upon by our communities – overcoming increasingly complex challenges every day.

“Councils do and achieve more than what is often seen or portrayed – the work of these teams affects every part of our lives, and is often a lifeline for the most vulnerable members of our communities. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating their efforts, and I am looking forward to the winners being announced at our awards ceremony at the COSLA Conference and Exhibition in September.”