Harrogate waste plan paused as bins 'overflow' with dog poo

The council said it would review the changes in light of the complaints

Harrogate bins have been left "reeking" and overflowing with dog poo bags after changes mean they are collected less frequently, councillors say.

North Yorkshire County Council has replaced around 1,500 of the town's litter bins with 775 bigger ones.

The bins are emptied every couple of weeks, less than previously, which has led to complaints about the smell.

The council said as a result it would pause the rollout and review the project.

The authority inherited a programme to replace the bins from Harrogate Borough Council, which was abolished last year.

'Absolutely reeked'

The cost-cutting changes mean the bins are emptied less and are more likely to be located alongside main roads to make them easier for council staff to collect, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But issues about the smell were raised at a council meeting last Friday.

Councillor Monika Slater, who represents Bilton Grange & New Park for the Lib Dems, said the focus on collections had "completely changed" as bins were now placed close to roads where they could be collected quickly rather than where they were most needed.

"There was a bin in Bilton this summer that absolutely reeked, it was overflowing and people were leaving bags on top."

She also said people had been dropping dog poo bags in places where the bins used to be.

Paul Haslam, the Conservative councillor for Bilton & Nidd Gorge, said he had received more emails about poo bins than anything else as he represented the "dog walking capital" of Harrogate.

"I'd like some form of monitoring. Lots of people are very concerned about this. They might need to be changed more than once a fortnight, particularly if there's a lot of dog excrement."

Harry Briggs, the council's head of waste and streetscene services, said the authority was "looking at this project again".

He added it was "right we pause and reflect to see if the locations could be improved".

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