Bin collections suspended again...

Bin collections have been suspended in Coventry and parts of Warwickshire for a fifth day due to ice and poor road conditions.



Coventry City Council said it had done a number of trial runs but some of the side roads were too dangerous.

North Warwickshire Borough Council said it had also suspended its service.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council said it would resume collections but would work over the weekend to clear the backlog.

A Nuneaton council spokeswoman said its waste crews had been clearing snow from the town centres when they were not able to go collect bins.

Hayden Phillips, from North Warwickshire Borough Council, said it was a difficult decision to suspend services again but they felt "it was for the best."

He said: "We know it is problem for people and we ask people to bear with us."

Stratford-on-Avon District Council said it had carried out collections throughout the cold snap.

The collections there are carried out by a private company Biffa Municipal.

Coventry City Council said people that have been missed this week should put their green lidded bin out next week on their usual day.

It said it would also take any additional bags of waste.

Recycling will be collected the week after next, as scheduled, the authority said.

Anger in Coventry over decision not to empty wheelie bins



ANGER is growing in Coventry over a decision not to empty the city’s bins – despite the main roads having been clear of snow for days.

Coventry City Council has again suspended bin collections for today due to icy road conditions.

People who have been missed collections this week should put their green lidded bin out next week on their usual day.

Recycling bins will be collected the week after next, as scheduled.

Any additional bags of waste will be collected next week while any extra bags of recycling will be collected with the next scheduled recycling collection - in two weeks time. Residents have been warned by a leading councillor that it is “highly likely” rubbish collections will not restart until Monday.

Rounds were suspended last Friday with the first big flurries of snow in Coventry.

A combination of the continuing bad weather and health and safety rules then led the council to cancel wheelie bin collections on

Tuesday and yesterday. There are no regular collections on Mondays.

Meanwhile, in Warwickshire, several councils sent out binmen yesterday and have made efforts to collect the rubbish and catch up on missed collections

While Nuneaton and Bedworth did cancel rounds yesterday, it is putting on extra rounds at the weekend to catch up.

Despite the main roads around Coventry being cleared of snow and nearly all schools re-opening, Coun Lindsley Harvard, the council’s cabinet member for city services, said the 26-tonne waste vehicles would find some of the side roads hazardous, making driving conditions difficult.

A collective decision is made each morning by a health and safety worker, driver, refuse collector and senior manager who go out with a waste refuse vehicle and check the safety of the roads.

Coun Harvard said it was “highly likely” delays would last until Monday when an extra collection might be put on.

He said: “The snow doesn’t seem to be breaking up until Saturday and it is highly likely bin collections will be suspended for the rest of the week but we will make a decision each morning.

“A kerb won’t stop a refuse vehicle from hitting anything in its way. It will slide on an incline and could hit a member of the public. The pavements are also still dangerous.

“We apologise for the delay but health and safety is our main concern. Workers have been gritting some roads five times a day.

“I would advise residents to put their bins out ready for Monday. We will collect extra side waste from any missed collections.”

Yesterday, a total of 36 contracted workers and drivers were sent home, while 25 refuse collectors were put on annual refresher training courses and 40 were sent out to “hand-grit” side roads.

Meanwhile, in the Scottish Borders and Swansea, where the MET Office has issued severe weather warnings, bin collections returned to normal with minimal disruption.

Meryl Winby, aged 50, of Longford, set up a Facebook group called Wheelie Made about Coventry City Council’s refuse collection policy, after bins were not emptied for four weeks in 2010.

She said: “I’m absolutely shocked that this has happened yet again. I don’t really see what their problem is. If I can travel to Gaydon to work why can’t bin workers at least try and collect the bins?

“Whenever there is a single bit of snow in this city bin collections come to a complete standstill. I don’t mind taking my bin to a main road and having them collect it from there. The council’s can-do approach to collecting council tax doesn’t correspond with their attitude to bin collections.”

Mark Field, 47, of Robin Hood Road, Willenhall, who has not had his bin collected, said: “It’s a load of rubbish. I have already complained to the council about the delays and they don’t even try and make an effort.

“It’s the same problem we had a few years ago - nothing has changed.”

In Rugby, workers will spend today and tomorrow catching up with bin collections that were missed last Friday and Monday.

Stratford-on-Avon District Council reported refuse and recycling crews were out on their normal rounds and will “do what they can depending on road conditions.”

In Hinckley, collections continued as usual yesterday, where possible.

And in Warwick workers were attempting to collect grey bins where roads were deemed safe and will empty bins that were not collected last Friday.

Extra bin collections to clear backlog in Warwickshire

Extra bin collections are taking place in parts of Warwickshire after they were suspended because of ice and poor road conditions.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council said crews were planning to go out on Saturday ad Sunday to pick up any bins missed during the cold weather.

Crews from Warwick District Council were also doing collections in some smaller villages.

Some people in the county had not had their bins collected for seven days.

Bins collections started again in Coventry on Friday after services were suspended for three consecutive days because of snow.

North Warwickshire Borough Council said it had also suspended its service.

Normal collections were due to resume in parts of Coventry, Rugby, Solihull, north Warwickshire and Stratford-upon-Avon from Monday.