Anger as rubbish bins are left lining the streets

A public outcry has erupted following delays in rubbish collections in and around Horsham over Christmas and the New Year.

Horsham District Council Council announced on Saturday that the delays to bin collections were ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’. Later, it said the delays were caused by staff sickness, vehicle breakdowns and weather conditions.

People were urged to leave their bins at their normal collection points and, said the council, “we will collect as soon as possible.”

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But residents took to social media to vent their anger as their bins were left lining the streets. One man said: “This has been going on since before Christmas....and they want to move waste to two weekly... inefficient ineffective and unprofessional.”

And a woman criticised the council’s ‘vague’ message. “In the meantime, all our bins will be out on the pavements in the way of pushchairs and mobility scooters.”

Meanwhile, pensioners in Ringley Road, Horsham, were up in arms this morning after discovering that rubbish from their recycling bins had been left strewn across the road following overnight strong winds from Storm Eleanor.

One said: “Our recycling was due to be collected yesterday, but it wasn’t. Then strong winds in the night blew over the bins and left all the refuse in the road. I phoned the council to ask if someone could come out to collect it and I was told that it is our responsibility to clean it up.

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“We’re all OAPS here and we pay alot in council tax.Why should we have to go out and clear up rubbish that should have been taken away yesterday?”

A spokesman for Horsham District Council later apologised for the delays. Said a spokesperson: “The areas affected are experiencing at worst a one day delay in terms of collection and we expect to have all outstanding collections caught up by the end of the week. Unfortunately, a combination of staff sickness, vehicle breakdowns and weather conditions have contributed to the delays.

“We’d like to thank everyone for being patient and we ask residents to leave their bins at their collection point and they will be collected as soon as possible. In addition to this, if residents require any updates we have information updates available on the council website: www.horsham.gov.uk

“With regard to last night’s storms, we advised residents via the web site to present bins for collection by 6am this morning to avoid bins being blown over. Obviously we can’t legislate for the weather which affected us and neighbouring authorities throughout the south east which has caused some issues with bins being blown over in more exposed locations . We will endeavour to assist residents with the issue of materials that have been lost from bins as a result of the storms.”

Horsham’s weekly bin collection service is to change to fortnightly next month.

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