Council slammed over unemptied bins and rat problem

Richard Evans, local democracy reporter

A council, which introduced a controversial waste and recycling scheme last summer, has been slammed over continued missed bin and recycling collections, causing rats and a danger to livestock.

Cllr Chris Evans said he has been contacted by several residents and that Denbighshire’s revised collection rounds are still missing out homes, particularly in rural areas.

Cllr Evans says he has recently taken up the issue with recycling chiefs and chief executive Graham Boase after a local community nurse kept returning home to unemptied rubbish bins, despite repeatedly reporting the matter to the council.

Denbighshire brought in a new Trolibocs system in June, requiring residents to separate recycling into separate compartments, as opposed to the old blue bin “co-mingling” system.

Recycling collections were increased from fortnightly to weekly whilst waste collections were scaled back to a monthly collection service.

Angry residents

But the council were inundated with calls from angry residents for months on end, forcing the leader Cllr Jason McLellan and chief executive Graham Boase to apologise.

The council then revised and scheduled new collection routes in the autumn.

But Cllr Chris Evans said the collections are still not working in some areas.

“I have had complaints from residents. One is a district nurse. She goes around the vale, looking after vulnerable old people,” he said.

“But she’s coming home to her bins not emptied. To me, it’s not fair. We all pay.

“It’s been months and months since the new system was implemented. In high winds, bins are getting blown left, right, and centre.

“I’ve reported it five or six times. Residents have reported it many times.

“The routes should be sorted, but again we are having this problem. I have other residents who are still having problems.

“It is the rural properties that are the problem.”

‘Health hazard’

He added: “It is turning into a health hazard. I have seen rats.

“We went to Rhyl when those storms were on, and there was litter in abundance.

“You could see the rats running around the sides of buildings in the main street. There was rubbish everywhere.

“In my ward, it is happening that when vehicles are travelling from farm to farm, the recycling is getting blown into farmers’ fields, and the animals are digesting this rubbish.

“It’s not good enough. We’ve introduced something that is not working.

“The council tax, in part, is for a service.

“If there was ten different ways to empty your bin, you wouldn’t use this service.

“You have a little bit of ice, and they (bin wagons) don’t go out. There are issues with fly-tipping.”

A spokeswoman for Denbighshire County Council commented: “We are aware of the address that Cllr Evans is referring to and are currently looking into this specific missed collection claim.”