Several more Northampton streets report three-week wait for waste collections because of new bin roll-out

The roll-out of a new wheelie bin in Northampton has seen several streets left waiting three weeks for a bin collection.
Chrissie Thomson, of Ullswater Close, kneels by some of the uncollected rubbish in recycling boxes.Chrissie Thomson, of Ullswater Close, kneels by some of the uncollected rubbish in recycling boxes.
Chrissie Thomson, of Ullswater Close, kneels by some of the uncollected rubbish in recycling boxes.

Last week the Chron reported how people living in Ullswater Close, off Booth Lane South, had been placing their cardboard glass and plastic optimistically at the kerbside since September 4.

But as their new blue-top bins had not yet been delivered - none of it had been collected.

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Similar tales of woe have now begun to trickle in from other parts of the town - with areas reporting delays of three weeks and more.

Sales executive Bryan Sibbald, 57, said people living in Manfield Way, just off Kettering Road, have not had a collection since September 8 while they wait for their blue bin. They were meant to have been delivered by September 14.

But, despite requests for answers by residents there they are still in the dark as to when their new bins will arrive and their growing waste piles will be taken away.

"Our rubbish is slowly piling up," Mr Sibbald said. "We have had to get a friend of ours to take our recycling."

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in Wilmington Terrace, Semilong, residents there have seen a whole row of the old black general waste, recycling boxes and brown garden waste bins left for three weeks to pile up.

One reader wrote to the Chron to say the unsightly row had attracted rats.

Northampton Borough Council began distributing the new all-in-one blue-topped bins in August and started collecting rubbish from them on September 17.

But not all the properties deemed suitable in town have received the bin as they should.

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A spokesman for the borough council said that anyone who has not yet received their recycling bin can continue to use the boxes or put their recycling out in clear or white plastic sacks.

Councillor Mike Hallam, cabinet member for environment, said: “We acknowledge that there have been some issues with bin collections in certain areas and we’re sorry for any inconvenience caused.

“During consultation, residents told us they preferred weekday collections, so we’ve changed from a six to a five-day service.

"This change has resulted in some areas having a different collection day and a slight disruption to their normal pattern of collections for a short time. Our crews are also getting used to new routes as a result of the change to their working patterns.

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“There are invariably hiccups during the roll-out of any new service in a town of our size and I’m really grateful for everyone’s patience while we adjust to these changes.”

Residents can report a missed collection on the borough council’s website within 48 hours of their collection day here: https://www.northampton.gov.uk/missed-collection

If anyone is unsure about their collection day, or which bin to leave out, they can also check on the borough council’s website and download a calendar: https://www.northampton.gov.uk/info/200084/recycling_rubbish_and_waste/1602/check_your_collection_day