Residents blockade bin lorry as recycling snoopers row grows

RESIDENTS protesting against a recycling crackdown have blockaded a bin lorry and stuck a warning sticker on a council worker.

Feelings are running high in Huddersfield after Kirklees council hired 12 full-time “advisers” last month to sift through recycling bins before collection to ensure waste is sorted correctly.

Anyone found contaminating recyclable items with rubbish had their bin tagged with a yellow warning sticker, while repeat offenders saw their green recycling bins confiscated.

Since the initiative began, more than 1,300 bins have been taken away from from rule-breakers.

While the measures were taken to encourage residents to recycle more, many home-owners are disgruntled.

One resident took the yellow sticker from her bin and stuck it on the adviser’s forehead. In another incident, a crowd surrounded a bin wagon and demanded that the workers empty overflowing uncollected bins.

Paul Holmes, branch secretary of the union Unison, said: “There is a load of aggravation.

“The blokes have had verbal abuse, swearing, threats of violence. One of

‘The blokes have had verbal abuse, swearing and threats of violence. The police have been involved’

the advisers has been assaulted already.

“Someone stuck a yellow sticker on her head. The police were involved.

“We had a wagon blockaded two weeks ago. When the grey wagon went up Hayes View in Rawthorpe, residents surrounded it and wouldn’t let it out.

“The people had all had a yellow sticker. They stopped the bin wagon from leaving and made them empty the bins left behind on the last collection day.”

This meant that all the waste on the round ended up contaminated which “kind of defeats the object”, he added.

Kirklees council said it was aware of the incidents and urged members of the public not to abuse its staff.

It says the crackdown has already had a positive effect, with an additional 45 to 85 tons of waste a week now being recycled.

Naheed Mather, the council cabinet member for communities and environment, said: “We can confirm that these two incidents have been reported to us and all employees involved have been given our full support.

“Our hardworking bin operatives and our advisers are just trying to do their job.

“I urge residents to please allow them to do so without abuse.”