Fury as residents use private bin collections as council cut services
FACEBOOK Outraged homeowners have been forced to sign up for extra collections
Outraged homeowners have been forced to sign up for extra collections, while continuing to pay council tax, despite pleas from residents for a more frequent service. With many households struggling with excessive waste and pest issues, the introduction of a private collection service for around £25 a month was welcomed as a necessary expense for locals. The town of Bury has seen a significant increase in sign-ups for the service, as locals fear the lack of council collections will result in a fly-tipping crisis within months. Fed-up residents have taken to social media to express their disgust, with many complaints citing mountains of rubbish left in alleyways and scattered across public land.
Bury Bins, a local firm established months after the collection change, charges around £8.40 per bin, meaning most households are out of pocket annually by a staggering £330 before having to pay their council tax bill. Unlike Bury Council’s waste which goes to landfill, the privately-run Busy Bins’ collections are burned to generate energy. Jason Turner, a telecoms employee from Bury, told Express.co.uk the mass garbage piles have also led to an increase in flies and disease-carrying vermin, claiming the rat population in his neighbourhood has soared. Mr Turner added the change to a monthly rubbish collection service from the council came just months after residents were encouraged to swap their bins to smaller sizes. He claims that people agreed to the space-saving swaps without being informed of the proposed bin schedule changes.
FACEBOOK Mountains of rubbish have been left in alleyways and scattered across public land
Following the change to bin collections, the father-of-four led a social media campaign - “Say NO to 3 weekly bin collections” - which attracted more than 4,000 people within days. On top of the inconvenient and potentially hazardous waste situation, Mr Turner said Viridor - the company hired by Bury Council for recycling - only collects certain plastics. This has resulted in wheelie bins overflowing as residents are forced to put yoghurt pots, fruit and vegetable punnets, meat containers and butter tubs into their household waste - adding to the load. When the changes to scheduling were enforced in the Greater Manchester area, Bury Council claimed the move would save £800,000 a year. However, that cost is now being borne by residents, who have been forced to take matters into their own hands in order to maintain sanitary standards near their homes.
FACEBOOK The overflowing bins have led to an increase in flies and disease-carrying vermin
At the end of last year, Bury Councillor Alan Quinn was forced to defend the council's policy, which was introduced after the council saw its budget slashed by £65 million. Speaking to ITV news, Mr Quinn claimed the reduced bin collections had lead to an increase in recycling, saying: “The recycling rate in Bury when we took over in 2011 was something like 24 per cent. “We’ve got that up to 57 per cent, saving over a £1 million, which has gone back into frontline services.” At the time, the councillor had ruled out offering residents forced to pay for private bin collections a rebate for the extra costs they have to bear on top of paying council tax.
FACEBOOK Residents fear the lack of council collections will result in a fly-tipping crisis within months
It comes as residents in Birmingham were forced to take matters into their own hands, after bin collectors went on strike - leaving streets filled with rotting waste for weeks. The industrial action came as a result of plans by the council to save £5 million a year through a restructuring scheme - set to cost at least 120 jobs. Shocking images soon emerged of mountains of refuse left out on public pavements, with the dispute showing no sign of coming to an end.
Hundreds of tonnes of rotting rubbish were only removed when Muslim community group Bearded Broz stepped in to carry out rubbish collections in the Yardley area on August 3. The group borrowed a truck from the Balsall Health Forum to pick up residents' maggot-infested waste, transporting four truckloads to the Tyseley waste and recycling centre. Since then, a petition calling for a council tax refund following the six-week Birmingham bin strike action has attracted 10,000 signatures from angry residents.