THE SAGA of Denbighshire’s recycling “disaster” continues as more rural residents claim their bins and recycling are not being collected for periods lasting as long as five weeks.
Angry council-tax payers say the authority is not returning their regular phone calls and emails to report issues with uncollected rubbish.
Last week residents and councillors complained of vermin being attracted by uncollected rubbish.
It prompted more residents to come forward, particularly those living in rural areas.
Denbighshire introduced the new Trolibocs system in June, which required residents to separate recycling into separate compartments, as opposed to the old blue bin “co-mingling” system.
Recycling collections were increased from fortnightly to weekly whilst waste collections were reduced to a monthly collection service.
But Denbighshire were flooded with complaints from residents for months, prompting backbench councillors to label the roll-out a disaster whilst calling for the resignation of senior councillors.
The council then announced new scheduled collection routes in the autumn, but the problems are said to be continuing, particularly in rural areas such as Rhuallt and Bodfari.
Christine Marston, of Waen, said: “Another week passes, another week when Denbighshire County Council fail to collect my trolley box or household waste.
“It’s stacking up now. I am having to improvise to contain it all. I think what disappoints me most is that not one officer has responded to my appeals to have my recycling collected, a little rationale as to why I appear to be consistently missed.
“I just reflect that if I had defaulted on my council tax for the same amount of time, I would be facing legal action by now. All I want is a weekly collection as promised by Denbighshire County Council. Is this so much to ask?”
Dave Thompson, from Rhuallt, said: “I’m emailing (the council) every single week. I’m getting one-off pick-ups from a clean-up crew every now and then.
“It was five weeks before we got our bin emptied (last week). They emptied last Friday. My next-door neighbours are the same. People are annoyed. It is getting so frustrating after we are being told it is getting sorted.”
Peter Seddon of Bodfari said: “Whenever it is icy or snowing, they don’t pick up the rubbish or recycling. They just don’t bother.
“I live on a single-track road. The council don’t care about rural communities. It is just the council. There is nothing we can do really. They don’t care. They don’t grit the roads. The farmers do everything for us.”
Another resident emailed the Local Democracy Reporting Service, saying: “Anyone would think DCC was a voluntary service! It’s a local authority who all the residents are paying rates for.
“The council needs to show respect for the general public and some accountability.”
Tremeirchion councillor Chris Evans said: “Houses in the area/post code LL164DA beyond the school have not had their recycling collected.
“Again, this is not acceptable as we have young families, as well as some vulnerable people that live here. It is rural, and we have an issue with not just foxes but also rats, which is a hazard.
“Can this recycling and waste collection be sorted for once and for all now, as it has gone on for too many months?
“It is affecting people’s mental health and well-being, and that is a risk to families’ health.”
A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “We are fully aware of the addresses referred to and are looking into the issues of why they have been missed to help us rectify this as soon as possible for the residents affected.”
