A bin crisis has hit the Bridgnorth area as hundreds of furious residents are hit by a month’s delay in rubbish collections because of the freezing weather.
Although many collections are on schedule, the anger of those waiting has been compounded because green garden waste wheelies with little waste inside have been unloaded over the Christmas and New Year period.
People living on Lodge Farm Estate are among those who are keeping their fingers crossed that normal service will resume from Monday so that the overflowing bins can be emptied. Shropshire Council has now announced that green waste bin collections are being suspended until next Saturday, January 23.
Shropshire Council is advising that additional bags can be left for collection alongside the bins, but Pauline Harris, who lives on the estate in Hazel View, is among residents who are concerned that these will be slashed open by cats or vermin.
Mrs Harris – whose last collection of domestic waste was on December 21 – said she could understand the snow preventing the scheduled collections due for Wednesday of last week, but “contingency plans” should have been drawn up.
Brendan Small, who also lives at Lodge Farm, said a collection of garden waste on Tuesday was “typical council thinking”.
“Household waste has not been collected for three weeks and bins are overflowing with bags around them. The weather has played a part, but where are the priorities?” he asked.
Shropshire Councillor Christian Lea has had many residents contacting him and has taken up their concerns with Paul Beard, Shropshire Council’s contract management for waste management.
“Many residents will still have turkey carcasses in their bins and for anyone with very young children, they could have a month’s worth of nappies in the bin,” he has told Mr Beard. Surely it would have made sense to suspend green collections in order to deal with the backlog of residual waste collections.”
Mr Beard has told Councillor Lea that the council and its contractors, Veolia Environmental Services, are reluctant to change collection schedules at short notice because it is difficult to get the message out.
“We did consider an option to ask residents to leave bins out indefinitely until we could reach them, but discounted this as the prolonged obstruction of footpaths and the sight lines of motorists would in itself be a hazard,” he added.
In Highley, mother of seven Susan Hartill, of Woodend Lane, said crows attacked bags put out. “I was told that a pick-up vehicle would come to collect the rubbish, but it hasn’t arrived,” said Mrs Hartill, who last collection was almost three weeks ago.
Shropshire Council communications officer Gareth Proffitt said it was unsafe in many cases for collection crews to take large lorries along icy or untreated roads, or empty bins or boxes where pavements are frozen.
Residents with queries can call Shropshire Council on 0345 678 9007 or visit www.shropshire.gov.uk