Weymouth and Portland residents' anger over rubbish service (From Dorset Echo)

Weymouth and Portland residents' anger over rubbish service

11:00am Saturday 2nd February 2013 in News

WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH: Kathleen Kelly and Franchesca Hills with the bagged piles of rubbish on Holland Road, Weymouth HG10438/HG10437

RUBBISH collection is causing a stink among residents with some having to wait a month to have their bins emptied.

All of Weymouth and Portland has had its refuse service disrupted after one day of the snow two weeks ago.

Disgusted residents say it is not good enough and some areas, including Westham, will have to wait four weeks between collections.

Kathleen Kelly and Franchesca Hills, of Holland Road, said it is disgusting.

Miss Kelly said: “There will be rats and mice soon. It’s awful.

“We didn’t even have that much snow but the bins haven’t been emptied in about a month.”

Linda Newton, of Emmadale Road, said the council needs to sort itself out.

She said: “My bin is now too heavy for me to move.

“There was only one day of snow so you would think they could catch up by now.

“The council has said they will take black bin bags but the seagulls and other animals will get in.

“It’s just not good enough, they need to sort themselves out.”

Speaking at a Weymouth and Portland Borough Council meeting, Melbury Road resident John Joycey raised concerns about rubbish collection.

He said it was disgusting the bins would not be emptied in a month.

Mr Joycey said after the meeting: “I feel this is totally unacceptable.

“The bins will start to smell and it will encourage rats, as well as seagulls tearing open the bags.

“I didn’t think the snow we had was that bad but if the council lorries couldn’t come out for any reason they should come back the next day rather than leaving it for so long.”

A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said all collection routes across the borough have been affected.

Robert Hallett, of Park Court, Littlemoor, said his usual fortnightly collection was disrupted with no warning.

He said that refuse lorries were only sent out after he called to complain after none of the bins on his road were emptied on the usual day on Wednesday.

Mr Hallett said: “I called the council to ask what had happened but they said the bins in my area were not due for collection for another week.

“Our last collection was two weeks ago and everyone living on the road knew it was due that day.

“In the end they came later in the afternoon but we were going to have to wait three weeks.

“I don’t know why the council thought the date had changed, but what I do know is that my neighbours and I can read a calendar, and know how long two weeks are.

“If they need to change the collection dates the council should let us know, not just wait until we figure it out when the rats are nibbling at our doorsteps.”

Councillor Gill Taylor, spokesman for environment and sustainability at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, apologised to residents and asked them to be patient.

She said: “People who did not have their waste and recycling collected on Friday, January 18, due to the adverse weather conditions should hold on to their waste until their next scheduled collection date.

“The council will pick up any extra waste left beside green bins during these collections.

“Brown bins will be emptied on the next scheduled collection date.

“We ask residents to ensure bins and waste is taken back inside or off the pavement until their next collection date to minimise obstructions to highways. Unfortunately rescheduling collections would impact on a far larger number of households in the borough.”