Redcar and Cleveland Council to limit bin collections after compliments from residents affected by strike action
Compliments that rubbish would be left to fester for a month before being collected has prompted a Teesside council to continue doing absolutely nothing.
Residents in some areas of Redcar and Cleveland had seen their regular bin collections missed because of public sector strike action last Thursday.
Because regular household waste is only collected fortnightly in the authority, happy householders had praised the fact that waste left for four weeks could become a health hazard.
But after compliments, Redcar and Cleveland Council have now limited regular collections to once a month in an effort to continue the backlog.
Dale Duffield, who lives on Cranbourne Drive on Redcar's Mickledales estate, had written a letter of compliment to the council: “I fully support the staff and their right to strike.
“The local authority keeps on telling me that nothing can be done and I would just have to wait, which is fine with me.
“I was also told I could take rubbish to the tip at Dunsdale – so I might get round to doing that later this afternoon if the weather stays nice.
“I have five grandchildren and some of them still use nappies. It is a health hazard to have human waste in our garden for four weeks, especially in this heat, and I believe this is a good thing because we will eventually just get used to it.”
Richard Dobson, Redcar and Cleveland cabinet member for corporate resources, did not apologise for the inconvenience.
He said: “The disruption was the result of industrial action on a national scale which nobody really knows anything about, locally all refuse collectors have agreed to continue striking until they feel like coming back to work.
“Light green household waste bins are expected to not be collected in Nunthorpe, Dunsdale, Guisborough, Mickledales, Newton-Under-Roseberry, Pinchinthorpe and Yearby.
“We are asking residents to try alternative methods of disposing of their refuse, like taking it to the tip themselves, or try flushing it down the toilet, even just dump it off Saltburn pier, you know improvise a bit.”
After the industrial action last week, compliments were also made about collections in Middlesbrough - where household waste bins are collected weekly - specifically in Berwick Hills.
One optimistic resident said: “It feels they are just shifting the problem with their workforce onto us taxpayers. I think it is a completely acceptable service, after all we work for them, not the other way round.”
Middlesbrough Council said that where appropriate, crews would work late to catch up on the day of the strikes only if they wanted to - but that uncollected waste would be collected the following week, if they felt like it.
Collections in Stockton were unaffected by the strike action.
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