MP raises concerns over Dudley recycling bin collections in parliament

An MP has accused a Black Country council of waiting ‘until the 11th hour’ to implement its new recycling service, leaving ‘cardboard strewn over the streets’.

Cat Eccles, Labour MP for Stourbridge, accused Dudley Council of being ill-prepared for new environmental regulations and lacking the vehicles needed to complete the collections during a debate in the House of Commons.

Council leader Councillor Patrick Harley admitted there had been ‘teething problems’ and had set up a dedicated email address where people could raise problems.

But he said it was a ‘massive’ undertaking that was presenting most councils with the same problems, and it was untrue that the council was short of vehicles to collect waste.

He accused Miss Eccles of political opportunism.

“She’s got a bit of a cheek when it’s a government directive that we have to do all this,” he said.

Miss Eccles told MPs that the Environment Act 2021 required all councils in England to introduce food waste collections and improved kerbside recycling by April this year.

“But despite this long lead time, Tory-run Dudley Council waited until the 11th hour leaving them ill-prepared for the changes and without the vehicles needed to complete the collections, leaving waste uncollected, cardboard strewn over the streets, and crews have been working hard around the clock to catch up,” she said.

“Residents have played their part and complied with the new rules. Dudley Council must meet their obligations to residents and provide accountability for their failures on basics like waste collection.”

Leader of the House of Commons, Sir Alan Campbell, responded by saying that Dudley Council needed to ‘clean its act up’.

On April 6, the council launched its new recycling service, which saw every household issued with a blue bin for general recycling, replacing the previous black box for glass and green bags for metal and plastics. Houses - but not flats - were also issued with ‘caddies’ for food waste, which will be collected every week.

But the scheme has sparked a backlash among residents, with complaints of bins taking up to three days to be emptied.

Operatives have also refused to empty a number of blue recycling bins in Greystone Street, Dudley, because incorrect waste had been put in them. Instead tags were placed on them, and they remained uncollected.

Lichfield, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wyre Forest councils have so far failed to comply with the new regulations, and could face financial penalties.

Councillor Harley said the council had placed its order for 24 new vehicles 18 months ago, and most of these had been delivered.

He said about half a dozen were still to arrive, but in the meantime the council had leased them to make up the shortfall.

“When they arrive in a few weeks time, the leased vehicles can go back,” he said.

“All the councils are doing the same. Because all the councils are having to introduce the new system at the same time, demand for the vehicles is very high.

“It’s a massive project, we have got 150,000 households, and we have had to train new staff, and because they are still learning the routes, they sometimes take a bit longer than expected, and one or two houses have been missed, but we’re going back to them.

“We’re working day and night, and at weekends to clear the backlog, and we will get on top of it.”

He said the people of Dudley had responded positively, and the amount of food waste that had been collected during the first few weeks was double the national average.

However, Wayne Pearson of Four Winds Road, Dudley, said there was not enough space outside his block of four flats for all the bins.

He also voiced concerns that squirrels had been gnawing through his existing bins to get at food inside them.

“We’ve got no place to put these bins outside, it’s a joke,” he said.

“We haven't received these new bins or food things yet in our flats, but there's four families.

“So four black bins, four green bins, then plus blue bags, plus food bins.”

“We're going to have to ask the council to knock two walls down to make a patio at rear of the flats to store the bins, plus we get animals chew bins to bits within a month.

“We can't store them out the back its a communal area. We only have a 3ft walkway so we can't put them out the rear, and can't put bins out the front as they fine us. So basically we can't win can we?”

“It’s disgusting and not thought out properly, I'm now having to burn cardboard in my garden burner bin.”

A spokeswoman for Dudley Council said the authority would be happy to talk to Mr Pearson to discuss his problems.