Council apologises after bins not collected for 10 weeks

Alec Doyle Local Democracy Reporter

A Welsh council has pledged to ensure bin collections that have been missed for 10 weeks are resolved.

Two residents living near Dunkason Caravan Park just off Mostyn Road, Gronant – 62-year-old Don Layfield and 76-year-old David Wilson – recently reported that their black bins had not been emptied since the last week of May.

As a result they have suffered with flies and maggots in their bins through the warmth of June and July. They even claimed that Flintshire County Council had recommended they bring their rubbish to the household recycling centre in their own cars.

And the situation was compounded when their usually reliable recycling collection was missed last week.

“It’s disgusting”

“It’s not right,” said Don. “We’ve been on complaining about this for so long now and it hasn’t changed.

“We had no problems with the black bins until the council changed to three-weekly collections in April. We accepted the change, but we still need the council to do its bit and actually take the bins, not simply drive past us on every run.

“Their lack of response is the reason we spoke out publicly about it because it’s disgusting with the flies and maggots – and the smell.

“The recycling has never been an issue but then for that to be missed too was just the icing on the cake. It feels like we are dropping off the collections list altogether.”

Apology

A spokesperson for Flintshire County Council apologised to Don and David for the problems they had experienced and said the Streetscene team would reach out directly to them to work out the issue and restore collections.

“I’m sorry to hear that Mr Layfield and Mr Wilson have been affected by ongoing issues with their black bin collections. We understand how disruptive this has been – particularly during warmer weather – and we appreciate the concerns they’ve raised about the impact on hygiene and wellbeing.

“The matter is now being looked into, and we’ll ensure appropriate action is taken. As with all persistent collection issues, the matter has been raised to the Operational Manager for review, and the customers will be contacted directly to ensure any problems are addressed.

“We’re also reviewing the previous reports made to customer services to understand why this wasn’t resolved at an earlier stage.

“While we recognise that isolated issues like this are frustrating, we are continuing to make improvements across the waste service to increase reliability and better support residents who may need additional help.

“Cllr Glyn Banks, Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Transportation, is also exploring further support for vulnerable households and we’ll share more on that once details are confirmed.”