Sholing residents 'fuming' as bins not collected for 7 weeks

In what could be a new record in the ongoing saga of collection delays, residents living on Bramley Crescent had to put up with nearly two months of overflowing bins.

Some neighbours resorting to taking their rubbish to the tip or even to work to clear the backlog.

This comes after months of misery for residents across the city as a result of changes in waste collection.

READ MORE: Leader says council has 'fallen short' as unemptied bin turmoil continues

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'Caused a nightmare'

Mum Tina Borer, 45, from Sholing said the issue has caused her neighbours to get in touch with Southampton City Council.

She said: “We were all sending emails to the council and we shared the responses we were being sent to the group chat. We were getting messages saying it’s their priority to sort the issue but nothing was getting done.

“We are fuming, not at the bin men because, at the end of the day, they have to do what they get told to do. But why did they have to make the changes they did? It’s just caused a nightmare.

“We understand that sometimes things get missed and it’s okay when it’s one or two weeks but seven weeks it’s just a joke!”

At one point the mum even had to fill up cardboard boxes filled with rubbish and take it to the tip.

Bins being collected at Bramley Close after seven weeks (Image: Tina Borer)

Crews previously operated on a system of ‘task and finish’ which meant they were able to leave work as soon as they had finished their bin round.

As of January, the council brought in a new system, requiring crews to work the full hours they are contracted and travel back to their depots to take breaks.

More than four months on from the change coming into force, and the council is still trying to clear the backlog - even paying external contractors.

The leader of the city council Cllr Lorna Fielker has previously issued an apology to residents stating that the council has ‘fallen short’ in its obligation.

Fortunately for the roughly 100 residents on Bramley Crescent, the bin woes finally came to an end when on Saturday morning they were emptied.

The 45-year-old mum of three Tina said: “People started sharing on the group chat that the bin lorry had finally come out and people started messaging sharing how happy they were.

“One person even said they had never been so happy to see a bin lorry down our road.”

Cllr Fielker previously encouraged residents to continue to report when a bin collection is missed.

She said: “I empathise with the frustration caused and strongly encourage residents to continue to report any missed bin collections online within 48 of its due date and leave the bin out.

“I extend my sincere apologies again for the disruption to waste collections.”