We’re so sorry, says waste firm
In a week of ‘chaos’ when rubbish has piled up and urgent action has been demanded...
‘But we’re working really hard to sort it out’:
MISSED waste collections are causing “chaos” on the streets of Bridgend and “urgent action” must be taken.
That’s the call from 47 borough, town and community councillors to the leader of Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC).
They have signed an open letter setting out the community’s anger at a new rubbish and recycling collection scheme being delivered by contractors Kier.
Since it launched on June 5, hundreds of residents have reported that both rubbish and recycling pick ups have been missed. Some have been on the pavement for a fortnight and the bags are now ripped.
Some of the unemptied food waste bins are crawling with maggots.
Council leader Huw David has now apologised, adding that Kier’s performance “is clearly not good enough”.
But he said despite the issues, “residents’ efforts are yielding positive results as even at this early stage we are seeing a 50% recycling rate increase, which is significantly higher than we anticipated”.
The new scheme limits most residents to just two blue bags of non-recyclable waste per fortnight.
The letter to Labour leader Coun David from independent, Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Plaid Cymru members states: “Enough is enough. It is now time for you as leader of BCBC to show leadership and take personal responsibility for this situation.”
It continues: “We call upon you to recognise that a crisis is unfolding before us and to intervene personally to bring this matter under control. You must robustly manage Kier and you must rethink this ill-conceived regime that is bringing so much concern and alarm to the residents of Bridgend County Borough.
“The public can no longer be dismissed as ‘whingers’ or ‘keyboard warriors’. The chaos on our streets cannot be ignored any longer. We urge you to intervene with immediate effect.”
In the letter the councillors claim the scheme, designed to increase recycling rates, “isn’t working and that Kier aren’t performing”.
It highlights the fact that many residents have still not received the correct bags or boxes required for the scheme.
It also claims Kier will not answer phone calls and emails of complaint from residents, while BCBC staff are “reluctant to intervene”.
The letter further accuses the authority of “disregard for the dignity of those who are forced to register for purple absorbent waste bags that highlight their personal medical conditions to their neighbours”.
On Monday the residents of Maesteg Road in Tondu near Bridgend were still waiting for the collection of their blue rubbish bags, which should have happened a week ago.
“I have emailed the council three times now and no reply. But you never get a reply anyway,” said one resident who did not wish to be named.
“I tried to phone the refuse department, but they automatically put you through to Kier. The third time I rang it went to a machine saying there’s a backlog.
“It’s a big ridiculous waste of money.”
Glendower Close in Brackla, Bridgend, should have had its recycling col- lected last Wednesday, but it’s still on the kerb and the boxes and bags are overflowing.
One woman’s food waste container is crawling with maggots.
She said she had bagged the food waste correctly but the bags have now “disintegrated”.
“We were told there would be a 12-hour shift on Saturday and someone would definitely be here,” said the woman, who did not want to be named.
Coun David said: “We have made it clear to Kier that significant and urgent improvements must be made.
“As a result of this, Kier have made changes such as increasing the number of staff at their call centre, introducing an additional vehicle to ensure that collections can be completed in some of the county borough’s harder-to-reach streets, ensuring that staff have worked over the weekend to help complete rounds, boosting crew numbers and more.”