Residents are demanding answers after their bins were left uncollected for weeks following the Christmas period.
Jay Stansfield, who created a “Bin-gate public diary” on Facebook to document the ongoing issues in Colne, Lancashire, said collections in his neighbourhood had ground to a halt since late December.
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Pendle Council blamed the delays on severe weather conditions and streets being blocked by poorly parked cars.
“Honestly – its been like bin-gate. I have been thinking about bins far too much this month,” said Stansfield, who expressed disappointment over the services residents pay for.
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The situation has left many households with overflowing bins and mounting rubbish
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The situation has left many households with overflowing bins and mounting rubbish.
Grey bins in the affected areas were scheduled for collection on December 28, but remained uncollected until January 23, according to residents.
Brown bins, used for recycling and garden waste, had not been emptied since early December.
“The grey bin was meant to be on December 28 and they never collected it,” said Stansfield.
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“There were bags of rubbish from Christmas in there and its not just our bin, its other parts of Colne.”
The council confirmed they finally collected bins on Stansfield’s street on Thursday morning (January 23), promising to keep residents updated via their website and social media.
Residents expressed growing concerns about health hazards as rubbish continued to pile up in the streets.
“We were getting frustrated, worried about rats and environmental risks as bags were piled up on top of the grey bins as people were putting extra waste in the back streets,” Stansfield said.
After making three calls to the council about the issues, Stansfield demanded greater accountability.
“I don’t like the lack of accountability. No one ever gave a clear explanation of why this was happening and there has been no real resolution,” he said.
“They need to reassess the way they operate. I want them to show some accountability and transparency for what has happened.”
David Walker, assistant director of operational services at Pendle Council, apologised for the disruption and thanked residents for their patience.
“Due to the snow and ice at the beginning of January, our collections were unfortunately unable to go ahead in all areas as planned,” he said.
The council explained that freezing conditions made many areas inaccessible, particularly on steep streets.
Low temperatures also affected collection vehicles, freezing buttons and causing mechanical problems.
“And because some people weren’t able to travel as they normally would, some streets were blocked by parked cars,” Walker added.
The council said teams were sent out daily to catch up on missed collections, but progress was slowed by persistent low temperatures.
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