A Barnsley resident has told ShefNews about her ongoing struggles with waste disposal.
Lauren Wheeler says her brown bin was not emptied for three months during the winter, as Barnsley Council have continued missing their bin collection schedules since January.
She said: “I have had to fill up rubbish bags full of recycling and leave them in my back garden.
“Just sort it out,” she said. “People are ending up putting recycling in the normal bins. What are we even paying council tax for if they’re not sorting it?”
Mrs Wheeler is not the only one struggling with her waste disposal.
A new report from the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Barnsley Council’s bin collection woes over the winter has revealed over 100,000 bins were missed by Barnsley collection crews in the first two months of the year alone.
Heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures in January and February are said to have been the start of the problems.
The delays were further extended with the council’s new safety scheme called ‘Be Safe, Work Safe, Target Zero’.
Although the initiative improved safety for bin collection crews, it also led to slower collection times, pushing back the schedule.
To catch up, the council have spent an additional £40,000 on temporary staff and vehicle hires.
Despite their interventions, collection of green bins has still been pushed back to the start of April from March.
In addition, a council statement at the end of February reassured residents of Barnsley that they are working to resolve the ongoing issue.
Matt O’Neill, Executive Director for Growth and Sustainability said: “We know it’s frustrating for residents when their bin collections are disrupted, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. We ask residents to continue to put their bins out on their normal scheduled day. We will get to them as soon as we can.”
However, according to Mrs Wheeler, the council have still not caught up, four months into the new year.
She said: “My blue bin has now not been emptied due to them being so far behind and neither were any on my street. Now it’s another month before the next planned collection and all my bins are full. They don’t bother collecting them.”