Rubbish building up as Cotswold District Council bin collections suspended

RUBBISH and recycling has not been collected in the Cotswolds since Friday, and with services suspended this week, refuse is beginning to build up.

The district council's waste contractor Ubico Ltd have had to cancel all collections this week due to heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures making conditions hazardous.

Cirencester resident David Thomas, 66, says the suspended collections are "inconvenient".

He said: "Obviously it is not ideal and it is inconvenient as our bin bags are rather piling up."

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Sunday, May 26 2013

Sybil Ruscoe said residents in Stow-on-the-Wold, where she lives, understood that it was "just not possible for the bin lorries to get here".

Residents are encouraged to keep their waste until the next scheduled collection when Ubico will pick up any additional non-recyclable waste and recycling from this week. People are asked to ensure that additional non-recyclable waste is placed in bin bags and put out beside the closed wheeled bin.

In addition, extra recycling materials should be placed in a suitable alternative box/bag and placed out alongside normal recycling containers.

Residents can also take their bagged non-recyclable waste and kitchen waste to three emergency waste pick up points which will be operating between 8am today and tomorrow. These points are at Cirencester Lorry Park, the High Street car park in Fairford, and the town council offices in Lechlade.

Councillor David Fowles, cabinet member for the environment, said: "I hope that establishing these emergency points will bring some relief for householders.

"Obviously it is very frustrating when their bins are not emptied, but we have to minimise the risk to the general public, property owners and Ubico staff.

"We are aiming to get back on track with the double collections and trust that residents will understand our concerns about safety during this exceptionally icy weather."

Rubbish collections have also been cancelled in Cheltenham this week.

Collections were suspended in Tewkesbury yesterday but are scheduled to take place today.

Only Stroud District Council and Gloucester City Council were brave enough to attempt to pick up collections.

Tewkesbury Borough Council and Forest of Dean District Council have stopped their services until the weather shows signs of improvement.

A spokesman for Gloucester City Council said: “We will only collect from households where it is safe to do so.

“It may be necessary to suspend collections in other areas, as the vehicles can weigh up to 26 tonnes and we will consider the risk of injury to the public and staff and damage to property, as well as the likelihood of the vehicles becoming stuck and causing further disruption.”

Residents should leave items out for three days after the collection date and refuse workers will attempt to collect them again.

A spokesman for Stroud District Council said: “We will do our best to collect on the scheduled day but if a collection is missed we will try our best to return within two days.”