Calls have been made for an investigation into ‘disastrous’ problems with bin collections over the festive period in Gwynedd .
Residents in the county say they have been left confused and frustrated by the lack of service and missed collections over Christmas and New Year.
Complaints ranging from food remaining in bins and of mouse and rat infestation have been made by members of the public in the Bethel, Talysarn, Llanrug , Bontnewydd and Caernarfon areas.
But the council has blamed the atrocious weather for causing difficulty with collections and stressed any issues were not widespread.
'Strain on services'
County Councillor Sion Jones said the new three week bin collection was putting more strain on waste and recycling services.
Cllr Jones, who represents the Bethel ward, said: “I was never in favour of changing the collections, as it’s been a disaster for families even if people are doing more recycling.
“The department haven’t prepared for the changes and collections over Christmas.
“As an example in Bethel, the council missed the recycling collection twice in two days, and that was after a delay a week before into the collection due to Friday being a Christmas day
“It is wholly unacceptable and has caused uproar in Bethel and communities across Gwynedd.
“This is a problem for many reasons, and there is a frustrating mess left on our streets in Gwynedd because of these failures.”
Cllr Jones is now calling for a formal apology from the council and an urgent meeting to discuss the problems.
He added: “I would like the council to apologise for this disaster and look at went wrong not to pick up all these bins.”
Caernarfon County Councillor Endaf Cooke said he has also received complaints about waste and recycling being left.
Cllr Cooke said: “I’ve had residents complaining to me saying that whole containers of recycling have been left in boxes just because one thing wasn’t recyclable.
“One person reported that someone had put a spatula into his recycling and because of that, his recycling wasn’t taken.
“The whole reason for the three week bin collections was to encourage people to recycle, and if this carries on we’re not going to meet the Welsh Government targets on recycling.”
But Caernarfon Councillor Roy Owen added that he had not seen a lot of rubbish on the streets.
“It was twice as bad last year,” he said.
“But I have had residents saying the three week bin collections are not working. “
The controversial plans to collect household waste just once every three weeks were rolled out in the Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionydd areas of Gwynedd last year, despite opposition. Recyclable products and food waste collections remain unaffected.
Council's response
Councillor John Wynn Jones, Gwynedd Council cabinet member for environment said: “In general, waste collection in Gwynedd has gone well over the Christmas and New Year period despite the adverse weather conditions and the fact that residents were familiarising themselves with new collection arrangements.
“These arrangements were displayed in waste and recycling calendars that have been distributed to Gwynedd homes, information published in the local press, on the council website and social media accounts. In Gwynedd, there are no waste collections on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In order to assist residents during this busy period, an additional waste collection day was arranged for Sunday, December 27 and collections were carried out as usual on January 1.
“Given the atrocious weather experienced in Gwynedd during this period, with many roads being closed to traffic due to flooding, it is inevitable that there have been some localised problems with waste collection during this very busy time of the year. However, we would note that these were not widespread. Any lessons learned from waste collection during the 2015 festive period will be used to inform and influence arrangements for the same period this year.”
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gwynedd-residents-complain-rat-mice-10682563
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