Swindon uncollected bins 'public health issue', says MP

Changes to bin collections came in at the wrong time of the year, causing a "public health issue", says one MP.

Some general waste bins in Swindon, Wiltshire, have not been emptied for weeks, leading to rubbish overflowing.

South Swindon Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland said he had received "a huge swathe of complaints" about the service run by the Labour-led council.

Swindon Borough Council apologised and said missed collections would be sorted over the next few weeks.

The authority brought in a new waste and recycling service in late November due to a legal requirement for food waste to be collected in the town, replacing its ageing bin lorries in the process.

"These changes have come in at a time of year where I think everybody is under pressure," said Sir Robert.

"And that has, I think, exacerbated an already difficult situation."

Collection of bins and recycling has been an ongoing issue for the council for months.

A combination of staff shortages, sickness, the extra holiday for the King's coronation and an ageing fleet of lorries that often broke down meant thousands of bins were not collected over the summer.

No sooner had the service recovered the new regime was brought in, with new rounds, collection methods and food waste collection in late November.

Councillor Chris Watts, cabinet member for the environment and transport, said the system was meant to roll out in October, "but there was a delay in the vehicles arriving".

"We were already in the process of hiring new people - we couldn't stand those people down.

"They were expecting to be employed, we had the system in place, it had to go ahead."

The council issued a statement this week apologising for the problems and saying it was working to get back on track.

Sir Robert said the situation had been worsened by winds brought by Storm Henk.

"This is a very severe problem at the moment, and it is causing public health concerns. I've been getting complaints about accidents, people falling, even car tyres being damaged.

"It's now becoming a public health issue which needs to be resolved urgently."

Mr Watts said the new trucks do not have enough space for the amount of cardboard that has been left out recently, so they have to make more journeys.

He explained there had been "teething issue with the new rounds", but said the council had now taken on more staff, hired three new vehicles and brought some old vehicles back into service.

Sir Robert added that he was also concerned with new plans for the collection of Christmas trees to only be taken from homes which have garden waste collections from next week.

"That's going to lead to confusion and further problems, I fear."

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