Late festive bin pick-ups cause anger

Blue bins were not collected on their scheduled days which led to hundreds of householders descending on the Roughmute recycling centre to drop off their rubbish causing a queue of traffic onto the main A883 road near Denny.

The main concern this week was the blue bins not being picked up following Christmas when they were full to the brim with cardboard, boxes and packaging from presents.

Falkirk Council issued an apology with advice on its website this week telling people collections would be late and for residents to put their bins out on the street until they are collected. This caused a flood of complaints on social media.

Ratepayers also say they already have a backlog of waste waiting to go in to the bins as soon as they are emptied and are asking why the council wasn’t better prepared for the festive pick-ups, knowing there would be more blue bin waste.

Resident Nicki Reed said: “All the bins have such a tight schedule that any delays in collection are making the whole thing a disgrace. The last two green bin collections that have taken place in my street had also resulted in the bin men not emptying my bin as they’ve accidentally walked past it. I’m having to call to complain.

“It’s especially bad over the holiday season when we all have more rubbish.”

There were also problems with green bins according to some residents.

Bryan Logue said: “My green bin was only partially emptied last week, I phoned council and was told I would have to pay £15 for them to come back and empty it. We complained they agreed to waive the fee, however, we are still waiting on it being collected.”

The council say all of its green bin collections, which are now four-weekly, have been running on schedule and that there are inevitably more people at recycling centres at this time of year, which can lead to delays and queues.

A spokesperson said: “It has been unfortunate that a number of blue bin collections had to be delayed over the Christmas and New Year period and we apologise to residents for this.

“However, the majority of collections have been completed on schedule despite it being holiday season. We appreciate the patience shown by residents affected and stress that we are working towards clearing the backlog as soon as possible.”

Householders can request larger blue bins and extra food waste caddies and black boxes to help recycle more. Call (01324) 504444 or email [email protected] for more information.