Christmas turkey waste ‘ was still in bin five weeks later’

A TOWN councillor has spoken out about the district’s waste collection backlog, telling councillors she knows of one resident who still had her Christmas turkey carcass in her food caddy five weeks later.

Derbyshire Dales District Council has been issuing updates about delays in collecting kerbside waste and recycling, after its contractors ran into staffing issues caused by coronavirus and then snow and ice.

In most cases, collection dates were missed only once per cycle, or bins were collected a few days late but Councillor Denise Brown says the service in Hilltop ward has been “shocking” and “abysmal”.

She told councillors at last week’s virtual meeting: “My bin wasn’t emptied for five weeks. People were complaining. If their kitchen waste hasn’t been taken in five weeks it’s missed two fortnightly collections and it’s on its way to a third.

“At one time, all your waste went in one collection. Then it was fortnightly.

“The council tax was lower when we just had one collection and it all went.

“There were fewer houses. Now the council tax is higher, there are more houses paying and certain areas are not getting the service.

“It has been absolutely disgusting in the Hilltop area.”

Her question was directed at the district councillors. Sue Bull, ward member for Ashbourne North, said she would feed it back to the council, while Tom Donnelly, ward member for Ashbourne South, including Hilltop, said he was not aware of the problem but promised to investigate.

District Councillor Stuart Lees, for Ashbourne North, pointed out that he has heard of issues for the collection teams in residential streets, with binmen struggling to access some streets because of cars parked at the roadside.

The district council issued a statement, following the town council meeting, responding to Cllr Brown’s comments. A spokesman said: “We had already noted Councillor Brown’s concerns as she has posted on the district council’s Facebook page that bin disruptions caused by Covid absences and treacherous weather conditions were, in her words,

“totally down to incompetence” and that it’s “a joke service”. She used other derogatory words too.

“We are extremely grateful however to the vast majority of residents who have posted supportive comments, showing a welcome understanding and patience in these exceptional times.

“At the time of Cllr Brown’s criticism, Serco had 11 crew off work due to Covid impacts and while agency staff were being employed at extra cost, these were in short supply. But disruptions and missed collections were caused mainly by extreme weather.

“Icy back streets were treacherous in some parts of the Dales and we recorded one occasion where a vehicle lost control on the ice and crashed into a ditch. More than one crew member sustained injuries slipping on the ice.

“While smaller vehicles can sometimes navigate in those extreme conditions, it’s a different issue altogether for a 26-tonne truck. “The safety of residents and our own crews will always be our priority.

“The catch-22 of course is that missed collections increase the amount of waste generated in those areas, meaning that bin lorries fill up more quickly than would otherwise be the case.

“So although crews have often worked on Saturdays and report daily for duty at 6am, working longer than usual, once full volume has been reached, a round has to stop.

“We have announced that normal collections will resume in the near future and urge residents who haven’t already done so to sign up for our free email bin updates at www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/ enewsreg”

All your waste used to go in one collection. Now council tax is higher without the service.

Cllr Denise Brown