City's bin collections set to change for second time

A city's bin collections could change for the second time in a matter of months as a council tries to deal with problems caused by the last overhaul.

Preston City Council made changes in April to coincide with a nationwide roll-out of weekly food waste collections.

But the revised set-up has been beset with issues, leaving residents in some parts of the city facing repeated missed collections of all types of waste - with one street in Ashton not having its recycling bins emptied for five weeks.

The authority's cabinet member responsible for bins, Zafar Coupland, told colleagues on Thursday that there was a chance some households could see their collection days change again.

The council blamed some of the problems on wagons needed for food waste collections being delivered late.

The meeting of the full council heard that there was still a shortage of suitable wagons, but three were due to be delivered in August.

Coupland told the meeting: "In the long term, some properties may have to have collection days changed to another day.

"Officers are looking at this – and other issues – to ensure that residents will have [the] settled and [effective] collection service that they're used to."

The changes in April were meant to make sure that every household had its bins emptied on the same weekday each fortnight, with food waste taken every week and recycling and general waste on alternate weeks.

But the changes did not go as planned.

Preston Rural East ward councillor Mark Bell said the roll-out had been "absolute rubbish".

"Weeks after the launch, my inbox is completely overflowing with complaints from angry constituents whose bin collections are repeatedly being missed," he said.

Coupland said "as both crews and residents get used to new collection days and times, inevitably, some mistakes are made and some tweaks are required".

But she added that "problems are being resolved".

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