Council blames height of vehicle and roadworks on failure to collect rubbish

A COUNCIL was accused of defeating its own recycling policy after failing to empty bins for over a month.

Ben Riddle, who lives in a block of flats in Lapis Close, off Twyford Abbey Road, Park Royal, said he contacted Brent Council about the problem ten times by phone and email but to no avail.

Mr Riddle said he was forced to throw recyclable rubbish into non-recyclable bins as tins and bottles overflowed onto the floor.

He said: “I get sick of ringing them. It’s like banging your head against a brick wall. They are supposed to collect the rubbish every week. How can they call themselves recyclable friendly? They blamed the contractor but they haven’t got a clue. I’ve had to empty them myself into the normal bins.”

Further complaints have been received by Cllr Daniel Brown, Lib Dem spokesman for the environment.

He said: “I was shocked to receive complaints from Alperton residents that they were finding that the council’s contractor was not taking away everything left for collection. I was even more shocked when the same thing happened to me this week”

The complaints come as Brent Council consults on plans that will encourage more recycling and reduce the cost of sending rubbish to landfill.

However, green campaigners say the plans are flawed as recycled rubbish will be crushed together limiting its quality and use.

Viv Stein, of Brent Friends of the Earth, said: “If Brent Council is serious about increasing their recycling they need to be able to collect what they are supposed to now. It’s quite astounding; they need to get their act together. The Council are letting down residents who are making an effort to separate their waste.

“If this is in anyway to do with staff cuts, it is doubtful whether changing to the new system, which will be confusing for residents, will bring the very ambitious rates of recycling that they are aiming for.”

Brent Council blamed the collection delays at Lapis Close on the waste vehicle being too high.

A spokeswoman said: “In order to resolve this, a smaller collection vehicle is being used to collect the recyclables as a co-mingled collection. Collections are now happening and officers are working to find a long-term solution that will allow the original vehicle to access the site.”

However road works were blamed for the problems in the Alperton area.