Call for bigger bins

COMMUNAL recycling bins need to be made bigger to stop them constantly overflowing, residents have said.

The calls have come from people living in Wildmill, Bridgend, where waste is stacking up around the banks of bins dotted around the estate.

One resident said the situation was made worse when a collection was missed. People have also started dumping non-recyclable waste, including an old fridge and a ladder, at the amenities.

“They can empty it and I will go out there and in the next breath it’s full again,” said one resident of Maes-y-Felin.

“They’re definitely not big enough, but people are also putting bags there which doesn’t help. It looks a state.”

Another resident, who lives on Glanffornwg in Wildmill, said he reported the bin bank in his street was overflowing on April 11, one day before a scheduled collection which was then missed by Bridgend council’s waste contractor Kier.

The dad, who did not wish to be named, claimed the waste was not collected until April 20.

“But they couldn’t get it all in the van,” he said. “They picked most of it up. They picked up what was on the ground, but left the bins full. They are not coming now until Wednesday, if they come.”

He said the overflowing waste is continually blowing into their garden.

On Monday morning many of the estate’s bins were overflowing once more.

Unlike other residents in Bridgend county, people living in Wildmill are asked to use the communal facilities rather than individual recycling containers.

A spokesman for Bridgend council said: “Some residents may have experienced brief delays in the collection of waste and recycling following the recent bank holiday, but additional staff are being brought in to help clear the backlog and the service should return to normal very soon.

“The council is working closely with both Kier and Valleys To Coast Housing to develop and improve collections from communal areas such as the ones in Wildmill as part of the new procedures, which are set to begin in June.

“Residents will soon be receiving guides on how the new system will work along with everything they need to help them recycle as much household waste as possible.”