Residents raise a stink about ‘unfair’ changes to bin collection NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE LEAVES SOME FUMING
Lots of people complained upon realising, as they’ve had to visit recycling centres.
PEOPLE living in Derbyshire have complained bitterly about what the consider an unfair north-south divide that has left them with smelly, overflowing bins.
Differing bin collection schedules have caused anger and upset in the area covered by North East Derbyshire District Council, which is split into two sections for waste collection – north and south.
But with refuse staff shortages due to Covid and an irregular pattern of bank holidays over the festive period in 2021, some homeowners are facing the possibility of not having their black bins emptied for almost three weeks over Christmas and New Year, when more waste is typically produced.
They face waste piling up, foul odours and there is the attendant risk of attracting vermin during the current period of disruption to the weekly bin collections, alternating between household waste and recycling, in black and burgundy bins respectively.
Councillor Julia VonGyer, of Heath and Holmewood Parish Council, lives in the southern area and says that the disproportionate allocation of collections has left people frustrated.
She said: “The problem, for us in the south, is that it’s like the north has been shown favour over the south in terms of bin waste.
“They split into two calendars, region A is the north, including Dronfield, and region B is the south which is Holmewood, North Wingfield, Wingerworth etc.
“If you look at the online calendar, the north has received two black bin collections in a row before the week commencing December 27, and will receive two black bin collections in a row starting January 4, so in the five weeks including Christmas, they’ve had four black bin collections over the south who have had two in those five weeks, and that has been the main issue.
“Lots of people complained upon realising, as they’ve had to visit recycling centres. What’s frustrating is not Covid; people can understand those things and can see that in their own workplaces.
“What is frustrating them is that if you live in the north, you are less likely to have to go to a recycling centre this holiday season. It’s the scheduling that has upset people the most.”
The south region covers places including Grassmoor, Clay Cross, Heath and Tupton while the north includes Dronfield, Killamarsh, Renishaw and Duckmanton.
Cllr VonGyer, who is originally from California in the United States, says that overflowing bins across the south of the district have caused issues around bad smells, encouraging rodents, and could risk an increase in fly-tipping.
Residents have been told by the council that bags of waste placed next to the bin cannot be collected, meaning people must travel to waste recycling centres at Stonegravels, Bolsover or Loscoe Household Waste Recycling Centre, which are managed by Derbyshire County Council and are open from 8.30am to 6pm each day.
However, Cllr VonGyer, who was elected in 2019, says that this has posed a problem for some residents who have particular needs.
She said: “What people have been doing is they have been ringing up NEDDC, and the advice they keep getting given is go to recycling centres. But if you don’t drive or own your own vehicle, that’s a problem. We also have people in areas of the south that have extra refuge capacity for medical reasons, and that is common with all councils, but it’s very hard if you are disabled to turn up to a recycling centre with medical waste.
“They may not accept it, for instance, so you don’t really want to be taking that around in your car, it’s not pleasant.
“Someone was told to take a taxi to the recycling centre because they didn’t have their own car. I doubt any taxi service would want to do that.”
The problem is made worse by a staff shortage affecting bin collections up and down the country due to increasing Covid cases, which has forced several councils in Derbyshire to amend bin collection dates.
Councillor Jack Woolley, Conservative representative for the Sutton division on Derbyshire County Council, wrote on Facebook last Thursday that NEDDC had put extra measures in place.
He commented: “After writing to officers at NEDDC they’ve provided the following update regarding bin collections.
“Currently the council are experiencing a rise in staff illness due to the rising cases of Covid like most work places. This has coincided with a rise in the amount of rubbish to be collected due to the Christmas period.
“This has been compounded by how the bank holidays this year fell. Given two working days between Christmas had been lost due to the way the calendar worked this year, there had been a smaller window for collection than usual, further causing issues. “NEDDC are looking to return to missed bins on the day of collection, or the following day if this isn’t possible.
“As some residents have highlighted, there will be two burgundy bin collections in a row for the South of the district WC 04.01.22 and WC 10.01.22.
“Similarly there will be a consecutive black bin collection the week commencing 10.01.22 and the week commencing 17.01.22 to help cope with the extra waste over the next couple of weeks.
“The council have said they will collect your recycling if you leave it by the bin, should you not have room. They’ve also advised putting black bin waste in bin liners in green bins until the day of collection if you’re struggling.
“If your bin has been missed after the next couple of weeks then you can always report it as being missed via the NEDDC contact centre.”