Wheelie bins left unemptied if facing the 'wrong way'

Angry residents claim wheelie bins aren’t being emptied if they’ve been put out the “wrong” way.

Some people in Earlsdon say wheelie bins are being ignored by refuse collectors unless the handles are facing the road.

They say some bins have been left unemptied up to seven times this year, and branded the Coventry City Council workers as “lazy”.

One resident took to social media to vent their frustration, writing on the Love Earlsdon Facebook page: “This happened to me yesterday.

“I’ve been complaining to the council for the last six months as bin has been missed seven times.

“Spoke to the bin men themselves and they suggested that it was because the handles were facing the house and not the road. Spoke to council again just to make sure this was right and it is.”

They added: “What I found most infuriating was the fact that no one informed me that this was an issue.

"At no point did I get a notice on the bin nor did any person on the end of the phone suggest this was the reason.

"I can turn the bin round, it’s no big deal. Those delicate bin men need not worry themselves anymore. Poor souls.”

Other residents hit out at the apparent hypocrisy that they were often forced to collect their bins from other areas of the street after they had been emptied, but were being forced to leave the bins out in exactly the right way.

Brian Hewetson wrote: “I only put out my bins once every six weeks or so, when they’re full.

"So imagine my disgust when my blue bin wasn’t collected last time.

"Presumably because it wasn’t positioned in accordance with the bin men’s liking. Or to give them the excuse to avoid, how might one put this, do their job.”

Zachary Zimmerman wrote: “Take two steps to walk around the correct side of bin, and then pull.

“What’s next? Being refused service at the till because the bar codes are not facing the ‘correct’ direction?”

The Telegraph has previously reported how the council had come in for criticism after it distributed 5,000 leaflets in Earlsdon, Foleshill and Hillfields using pictures to explain the perfect angle for wheelie bins to be placed before bin men collect them.

At the time the council was accused of being patronising, but pointed to concerns that excessive manual handling could lead to their employes suffering injury.

Responding to the latest complaints, a statement from the council said: “Where high volumes of bins are left with their handles against the property, this isn’t ideal for our collections and we always encourage and work with residents to have the bin handles facing the road. However we would not leave bins if the bin handles are not facing the road.

“We apologise for any inconvenience where bins haven’t been collected and will aim to complete these collections as soon as possible.”

Angry residents of a Coventry street accuse council of regularly leaving their bins unemptied



Neighbours in a Coventry street have accused the city council of leaving up to 50 bins unemptied on a regular basis.

Angry residents in Kentmere Close, Potters Green, say the over-flowing and unemptied recycling bins are causing a health issue and are blocking the pavements for elderly people and those with pushchairs.

But Coventry City Council says that the bin lorry is unable to get in to the street because of the amount of parked cars.

Dale Moore, who lives in the street, said: “Kentmere Close is a difficult street to park in at the best of times and this is made worse by Coventry City Council’s refuse collections being missed on a regular basis.

“Every two weeks the recycling bins are supposed to be collected, but in this street they are missed regularly, this means that there are 50 bins left in the street for a further two weeks until the next scheduled collection day.

“This is obviously a health and safety issue and a serious problem for elderly people attempting to use the public footpath.

“A number of residents have contacted the council about this issue but it continues to happen.

"Coventry City Council appear to champion recycling within the community but are unable to let the 50 houses in this street do so.”

A spokesman for the city council said: “We are aware of issues with collections of bins from parts of Kentmere Close.

"This has arisen due to our vehicles struggling to gain adequate access as a result of parked cars.

“Where we are unable to collect bins due to restricted access we will always aim to return later in the day, or as soon as possible following the scheduled collection day.

"We will be writing to residents in Kentmere Close to request their support with access on collection days.”

Council says that the bin lorry is unable to get in to the street because of the amount of parked cars

My mother's street regularly has the same problem. Sometimes residents have to help themselves, rather than just complain.

They never return after empting mine with the handle the correct way.

Perhaps we should bring back the old dust bin men who collected from your garden carried the full metal bins through entries to the main road where the dust cart was or the council widen roads making them fit for purpose. Or develope a remote control collector to these streets.

If a dustcart can't get down the street, could a fire engine?

I doubt it Rebbonk in my lane the residents have to pay to park in the church car park for this exact reason. I think a lot would park in their gardens making a hard standing but for the cost of a dropped curb. One lady was made homeless with her house burning down in Yorkshire because the fire arrived on time but the fire brigade could nt get access because of parked cars .