Frustration over 'absurd' tower block bin system

Tony Creedon said the change would be a health and safety hazard

Changes to bulky waste collections in a tower block in Nottingham have been labelled "totally absurd".

Nottingham City Council has closed a basement service area to residents in the Victoria Centre flats, where they previously disposed of large items, for health and safety reasons, citing previous instances when waste had blocked emergency access.

Now, people living in the block have been told to wait for caretakers to dispose of larger pieces of rubbish, rather than doing it themselves.

Resident Tony Creedon said he feared this would lead to a build-up of boxes and packaging inside flats, creating a fire and trip hazard.

Mr Creedon has lived in the block for 20 years and said in that time he had not been made aware of problems in the service area related to bulky waste.

Mr Creedon said any waste that did not fit in the rubbish chute would need to be collected

Residents are able to use a rubbish chute near the lifts, which drops to a skip in the basement, but larger pieces do not fit inside the chute.

Previously, residents could take bulky waste to the basement and place it in appropriate skips.

A letter dated 29 September told occupants to contact caretakers to arrange collection at the service road door.

Nottingham City Council later said it would pilot a different system, with twice-weekly bulky waste collections, allowing residents to place items in the corridor for collection.

The block houses hundreds of people over 26 floors

Mr Creedon said residents potentially having to store rubbish in their flats for days was a serious health and safety risk.

"Where do you store all the cardboard that you're going to collect over a period of time? Some people have almost daily deliveries of things in boxes," he said.

"If you keep things in your flat and build up a big pile of cardboard, then accidentally the toaster explodes, before you know it you've got a blazing fire."

The 70-year-old - who describes himself as partially disabled due to mobility issues stemming from arthritis and other illnesses - added the new system created a trip hazard and reduced his independence.

"When you're disabled, you want to move and you want to stay as independent as you can, doing things like keeping your flat clean, taking your rubbish down to the bins - that's part of that independence. [This system] is taking that away and replacing it with a mess," he said.

He also raised concerns about the workload for caretakers.

The service area, which takes retail deliveries for the Victoria Centre, is now off-limits for residents

Another resident, Simon Brindley, 69, called the new system "ridiculous".

"The view that I've taken, and other residents that I've spoken to have taken, is that this whole proposal is ridiculous," he said.

He added about 600 people lived in the block and the caretakers already had about two miles of corridors to look after.

"It's impossible to see how logistically it could work," he said.

A city council spokesperson said: "Resident safety is our number one priority and we take our landlord responsibilities seriously."

The council said the basement area had vehicles in constant motion and only a narrow walkway for residents.

It added in the past, large items such as mattresses and "entire kitchens" had been left outside lifts and in walkways, blocking emergency access.

On the twice-weekly collections, the spokesperson added: "If, following the pilot, it's found that additional resources are required, or that collection days and times need amending, we will address the issue."