Residents in Swansea Cul-de-sac frustrated over waste collection delays

PEOPLE living on a narrow cul-de-sac in Swansea said they were getting increasingly frustrated about delayed or missed waste collections.
They have claimed the issue in West Cross has long pre-dated recent county-wide interruptions to the service caused by staff shortages and sickness and minor issues with some of the lorries.
One Woodburn Drive resident, Jim Young, described it as “the road the council forgets”. Swansea Council said delayed collections on Woodburn Drive were often due to access issues due to parking. The Local Democracy Reporting Service pictured a refuse lorry reversing up Woodburn Drive on Thursday August 29 – the correct collection day – with centimetres to spare either side.
Speaking before the latest collection day, Mr Young said: “This has been going on for years, and it’s got acute recently. It might sound ridiculous, but people here are getting anxious. In the last month or two collections have been delayed nearly every week and missed on three or four occasions.”
The 75-year-old said residents cleared up black bag mess if foxes or other animals had opened the bags when collections were late, and that he had messaged local councillors about the issue. He said parking on the cul-de-sac, which is opposite a primary school, was an issue and suggested the introduction of residents’ parking only and the use of smaller refuse vehicles with wire cages.
Breda Regan, who also lives on Woodburn Drive, said delayed or missed waste collections were irritating. “I have to go out after foxes have got to the bags and thrown things all over the place,” she said.  Another resident, Denise King, said it was frustrating to have to keep hold of black bin bags for an extra fortnight if a collection was missed. She said the contents of someone’s black bags were “strewn” outside her property recently. “It’s dreadful,” she said.
A council spokesman said: “The delayed collections at Woodburn Drive are often due to access issues due to parking. The council will review the options available to make the waste collections more robust, and liaise with the residents.”
On the wider issue of worker shortages – which has prompted recruitment of new staff – he said the waste department was working hard to implement new ways of working along with a roll-out of new refuse vehicles.
“We are seeing an improving picture week on week,” he said. “A recruitment drive has filled the vacancies within the waste collection team, and has also increased the team’s size by 20 to create increased flexibility and reduced reliance on agency workers to cover absences. We are very grateful to the public for their continued patience, cooperation and understanding during this transition. It is anticipated that this improvement will continue with collections becoming far more settled.”
Last month the council revealed proposals to limit the number of black bags per household from three every fortnight to two. The measure would be part of a wider strategy to encourage more recycling and composting, and wouldn’t be introduced before next summer and only after a consultation took place. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​