Council apologises amid missed bin collection 'chaos'

Cotswold councillor Julia Judd has raised concerns of missed food bins being infested with "flies and maggots" in the summer heat

Council leaders have apologised for the "unacceptable delays" in rubbish collections, which some claim has caused "complete chaos".

Cotswold District Council announced plans earlier this year "to improve waste collection efficiency" by changing the service's routes for 60% of households.

After the changes were rolled out, Elkstone resident Anne said her bins were missed for almost four consecutive weeks.

Deputy leader Mike Evemy apologised for the delays, adding crews were returning "as quickly as possible" and additional workers had been drafted in.

Councillor Julia Judd said those who subscribe to the green bin service for garden waste, which is not covered by council tax, are "particularly irate" as the rotting vegetation is causing "undesirable issues" for some.

She also raised concerns about bins becoming infested with "flies and maggots" in the summer heat.

The new collection rounds began on 24 June, and were implemented to reduce costs by £375,000 during the current financial year, and some £500,000 thereafter.

Council leaders promised residents they would continue to receive the same level of service.

But Anne said garden bins in Elkstone were "blocking" narrow lanes after several missed collections.

The 79-year-old said it was "up to a villager" to contact Ubico, the council's contractor for the area's bins, about missed collections.

Residents of Elkstone have had a number of missed garden waste collections

"It was just complete chaos, we're not very thrilled.

"If they're going to miss them, they should stick to the three-day deadline, they shouldn't leave them out in the road like they have here for almost four weeks," Anne added.

Despite an apology from the district council, Anne has "no hope at all" things will improve.

"I have a garden which I love, it's always very well received on open garden day.

"My bins were absolutely full and for a fortnight I couldn't put anything more in them, so I wasn't able to do my garden," she said.

Ms Judd, councillor for the Ermin ward, has been receiving emails from "angry" residents since 3 July.

"Some of the incidents I have reported to Cotswold District Council have been resolved quickly, but it is a bit like ‘whack the rat’, as one area is collected, another one isn’t," she said.

“Of course, it’s a good thing for the council and Ubico to find economies, but the delivery of this plan is disappointing.”

'Let us know'

Mr Evemy continued: “If householders have already reported a missed collection to us, we’d like to assure them that our crews will be returning.

“If anyone has not had their collection made as expected, and not yet reported this to us, we’d urge them to let us know as soon as possible. The easiest way to do this is online," he said.