Extra binmen out to tackle Walsall and Sandwell waste backlog
Extra binmen will be out to clear a backlog of waste left due to bad weather. Some roads in the Black Country have not had collections for the past two weeks because of the treacherous conditions.
Bins were left out and extra bags piled up in some roads.
Full bins were left in Circuit Close, Willenhall. Walsall council today said crews completed 40-50 per cent of rounds. People whose bins were not collected for two Fridays could put them out today and tomorrow.
Mother-of-three Julie Rickhuss, aged 50, said that bins were not collected on Thursday.
"They did all the main roads," she said. "But people were able to get down my street in their cars so I can't understand why a big truck can't get down there."
Ms Rickhuss, of Hilton Way, New Invention, said she had been told extra bags of waste would be taken with the grey bins but not with green recycling bins.
"If the recylcing bin is full, it means people will have to put recycling in the grey bins instead," she said.
"We keep getting told we should recycle but what's the point when they won't collect it and it ends up in the grey bin?"
Bins in Brookhouse Road, off Broadway North, went unemptied on Tuesday. Father-of-three Waheed Rasab said: "There are a lot of bins still left out in the street."
Residents in Addenbrooke Road in Smethwick were also affected.
Walsall Council environment chief Tom Ansell said: "There will be extra staff out there to clear the backlog. It was purely the weather. Our men worked a miracle to do what they did.
"They worked in adverse conditions and still managed to more than 45 to 50 per cent of rounds a day."
The council website says that bin services will operate as normal and additional resources would be assigned to clear any backlog from missed collections for Monday to Thursday inclusive.
"It is envisaged that all work will be recovered each day throughout the week without further disruption," added the message.
Sandwell Council today pledged to get on top of the problem.
It said in a statement: "We will be putting on extra crews and resources every day this week to ensure any outstanding collections from last week are completed."
Councillor Ian Jones, Sandwell's cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said the severity of the weather meant they had no choice but to cancel some collections.
"You can't collect safely when you get the level of snow we had," he said.
