Green bags pile up as road choked
A CITY avenue has seen its recycling bags pile up – because it is so crowded with cars the council has been unable to collect them.
Wordsworth Avenue, just off Cardiff’s busy Newport Road, is lined by large trees and picturesque three-storey town houses.
In recent years, parking and congestion have become problematic because of the road’s central location in the city.
As you walk east away from Queen Street it is the first street you will come to that is 100% residential.
A month ago we investigated how the little road was being swallowed up by the city, traffic and student flats.
Now, traffic problems have meant the council was unable to collect rubbish several times in September, and it’s claimed the problem will get worse due to a lack of parking provision.
Michael Vernon, 68, who lives in the avenue, said: “Over the last three to four weeks the green recycling bags haven’t been collected on the due day.
“After two weeks of missed collections the backlog was subsequently collected on an unscheduled day when two parking enforcement officers attended during the morning school drop.
“Last week the bags weren’t collected again and the council said it was because they were unable to gain access due to parked cars in the area.
“The ones piled there now have been there two weeks. Normally they do a collection on a Wednesday morning.
“The food-waste guys come very early but for some reason they were not able to do the green bags.”
After approaching the Connect to Cardiff service on Cardiff council’s website, he received the following response: “I apologise for the inconvenience caused by this, and have explained that the bags have not been collected since September 19. I can see the crews have made mention on the 26th that they were unable to gain access due to parked cars in the area.
“I have requested a recollection of the bags within the next two working days.”
Mr Vernon said the green bags have now been piled up in the street and look unsightly.
He said: “I don’t know who has put it all in a pile. Someone has taken it upon themselves to put it into a pile but it is blocking the path.
“I understand that the bin staff are on a schedule but they should make some kind of contingency if they are not able to get up the road. Just leaving it there is ridiculous.”
A spokesman for Cardiff council said: “The collection of green bags and general waste takes place on Wordsworth Avenue on Wednesday, so the green bags that are pictured show the recycling that has been put out this week and some green bags which were missed last week.
“There is a building which is being developed on this street, so if delivery vehicles are present when the crew arrives then access can be restricted for a period of time and missed collections have been reported.
“These missed collections do have to be seen in context, though. In total, the council carries out over 1.6 million waste collections each month. So in total over 20 million waste collections are carried out each year.
“Using the data from the first six months of 2018, an average of 99.87% of waste collections were carried out on time. So only 0.13% were missed.
“A supervisor will visit Wordsworth Avenue on Wednesday along with the crew to ensure there are no issues.”