Smell and flies complaints over uncollected rubbish

Residents say they were overrun by a plague of flies after binmen failed to take away rubbish for three weeks.

The bins at the block of flats in Adams Drive in Willesborough were overflowing with uncollected household rubbish after contractors swapped collection days.

Resident Jason Streeting said the smell in the hot summer weather was overwhelming until contractors eventually took away the rubbish on Thursday last week.

He said: “Basically for three weeks they had not collected the bins in my block.

“The smell was horrendous and I couldn’t open the windows because of the volume of flies.

“I took pictures of the bins and a video of the flies from my balcony.

“I emailed the council and their response was that they would collect the refuse on Wednesday, but they didn’t, so I wanted to make people aware.

“Why should we pay for part of a service we do not get? Would the 18 residents affected be entitled to a discount in council tax?

“We know the council would say no, but yet they increase their charges while failing to provide all the services they charge for.

“It’s the same as going into a store and paying for goods we don’t get. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.”

Contractors Biffa collect rub- bish for Ashford Borough Council as part of the Mid Kent Waste Partnership along with Maidstone and Swale borough councils.

They did clear the bins last week, and have since promised to replace the smelly bins with new ones.

But a council spokesman said it is “simply not the case” that the rubbish had gone “uncollected for three weeks”.

The spokesman said: “In order to make collections as efficient as possible across the three boroughs, Biffa is looking at making some small changes to their collections and crews on some routes.

“In the case of Adams Drive, over the last three weeks the collection has taken place a day later than the specified collection day.

“Biffa is aware of the situation, and from this week collections will return to the usual day.”

‘I emailed the council and their response was that they would collect the refuse on Wednesday, but they didn’t

Overflowing bins at the block of flats