ONE Trafford has been branded a ‘disgrace’ after bins at Altrincham apartments were left untouched for weeks at a time – with overflowing waste attracting foxes and rats.
Frustrated residents at Devonshire and Weldon Road apartments have been experiencing problems with their general waste bins collections for a number of months.
The bins, which serve 47 flats, have been repeatedly missed by One Trafford refuse workers, with rubbish sitting uncollected for four to five weeks at a time.
The uncollected rubbish piled up outside the apartments
According to residents, this has happened on at least five occasions. When they have called to report it to private contractor Amey, they said they were told their bins should be collected every two weeks as standard and that there must be a reason for the delay – but no explanation was given.
Resident Ian Mason said: “There seems to be no reason for the bins not being collected. The recycling bins for plastics are collected as normal and there hasn’t been one problem. This is a disgrace and a health hazard and there’s rubbish spilling onto the floor attracting foxes and rats.”
Fellow resident Alison Davenport said: “I’ve been checking the bins on Thursday evening before collection to make sure that everything is fine and ready for the bin men. We also check no cars are parked to obstruct the lorries, we don’t understand why this is happening.”
The uncollected rubbish piled up outside the apartments
Dan Jerrome, Altrincham Green Party Campaigner, said he has been contacted by a number of “appalled” residents.
“The smell, mess and frustration for residents is a real nuisance, especially during the summer months,” said Dan.
“Despite complaints from residents no clear indication has been given as to why, the council contractors have failed to give a decent explanation. The scale of the uncollected rubbish is shocking. At times, residents have resorted to using recycling bins for grey bin waste or the floor.”
Fed-up residents even threatened to stop paying council tax if the problem was not resolved.
A One Trafford spokesperson said: "Emptying the borough’s 97,000 household bins is a job that we take extremely seriously and work hard to achieve a high quality standard. However, on this occasion that standard has not been met and we would like to apologise to the Devonshire Road residents who have received irregular bin collections over the past few months.
“We appreciate this issue being brought to our attention and have now improved our processes to ensure we’re providing the expected service in future and are confident this will resolve the situation.
“Any issues with local services, including missed collections, can be reported by phone on 0333 003 5865 or at my.trafford.gov.uk."
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