Residents face rubbish wait as supply issues hit

RESIDENTS in Redcar and Cleveland are having to wait up to two months for new bins with the council confirming there are problems with their supply.

Anyone requesting a new bin is being told there is a standard wait of between about six to eight weeks.

Redcar and Cleveland Council said there was a delay in delivering new bins to householders because of issues with the supply of plastics to the companies that produce them.

It said the problem was affecting other councils and organisations across the country. Residents can request replacement bins, or in some instances additional bins for recycling, which come free of charge.

One councillor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that bins were being shipped from abroad and some that recently arrived had been damaged and were unusable, something the council was unable to confirm.

The councillor said: “Apparently they come from Germany. I know that there were quite a few orders received by the council which had been severely damaged in shipment so they could not be distributed to those waiting for them, so the council had to re-order.

“They were all cracked and the lids were falling off. On average for a 360 litre bin the wait is about six to eight weeks.”

A report last month by Councillor Barry Hunt, the cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing, referred to “struggling” supply lines in respect of receptacles and vehicles used in the management of household waste.

A council spokesman said: “The council is able to confirm that there is a delay in the supply of new bins which is due, in turn, to the supply of some plastics to production companies. This is a problem shared with other councils and organisations across the country and we recognise the difficulties that this may cause some of our residents.

“However, we are now progressing orders through alternative suppliers to meet demand as soon as possible.”