Rubbish row rumbles on
RATS, rubbish and an increase in fearless foxes have all been on the rise since bin collections moved from once a fortnight to once every three weeks, say
Oban Times readers. The council claims there has been an increase in people recycling items – but visitors to Moleigh, the local authority’s waste disposal and recycling centre, say it is full to overflowing with general waste.
Claims that weekly collections in Soroba were going to be reintroduced were confirmed by a council insider who said: ‘ The people who made the decisions about the bins were not the people doing the job and therefore the scheme set up for Soroba was never going to work.’
The demand for second green bins has been so high that the local authority has now run out of them and is waiting for more to be delivered.
The council insider said: ‘ People in Soroba have seen people from outside the area drive up and dump into the communal bins – it is a disgrace.’
A statement from Argyll and Bute Council issued before Christmas said bin collections would remain the same over the festive period, however, reports from all over Oban and Lorn would suggest many people felt this was not the case.
The local authority said: ‘ Bin collection days will remain the same over the new year period.
‘ The civic amenity site at Moleigh, Oban, will be closed on January 1 and 2 but will be open from 10am to 2pm on Tuesday January 3.’ Fiona Vick posted on The
Oban Times Facebook page: ‘Remain the same? They haven’t even emptied our green bins since Tuesday 27 (when scheduled) been out on the road since Monday night.
‘Reported twice and all I got was leave the bins out. This is not the bin men’s fault! It’s the council’s fault.
‘ Soroba is going back to weekly collections too, so why is everyone not going back to the same! Can’t treat some people differently than others. We all pay council tax, we all should have an equal service.’
Donna Macaulay was in the same position as many others who were using the dump much more regularly to get rid of waste.
She said: ‘Should put everyone back to fortnightly collections, having weekly for some and what we’ve been getting is outrageous.
‘ I’m having to take stuff up to the dump myself all the b***** y time.’
While reader Rebecca Cressey added: ‘ Not collected!
‘ Have not remained the same, have been tightening their belts to the detriment of the collections.
‘[the council is] too tight to pay for bin men during holiday times, always fobbed off with lorry breakdown, shambles!’
Residents throughout Oban are claiming that bins have not been collected in areas such as Bay View Road, around the tower, Taynuilt, Connel and North Connel. One woman, who did not want to be named, has started taking pictures of the dead rats she is finding near her home. She believes this is due in part to the increased rubbish sitting outside people’s houses.
She said: ‘ I have never seen anything like it. A mouse, yes, but not a huge big rat running all over the place. What next – botulism, the plague? Give us back our bin collections now.’
Other people in outlying areas are reporting ‘ hissing’ foxes when they are disturbed while breaking into discarded general waste next to bins.
A spokesman for Argyll and Bute Council said: ‘Argyll and Bute Council’s new refuse and recycling collection service has led to an increase in recycling.
‘ The new model – keeping recycling collection services as they are and moving to a three-weekly schedule for general (green) bins was introduced first on Mull at the start of October then in the rest of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles in late November.’
Chairman of the local area committee Councillor Roddy McCuish said: ‘ We are aware of general concerns in the Soroba area.
‘ We’ve been in discussions with the housing association and are looking to create space for additional large recycling bins. We’ll put an extra run on this week and will monitor the situation.
‘ We’ll also be arranging meetings with residents to clarify things and remind people of the various recycling options available to them.’