Residents of a block of flats in Chalfont St Peter say they have been in an “appalling” situation as their bins haven’t been collected for more than a year.
People living in the eight apartments in Churchfield House on Churchfield Road say that just over a year ago, the building’s communal general waste and recycling bins stopped being collected.
The residents have each contacted Buckinghamshire Council (BC) several times to try to get their bin collection reinstated, but to no avail.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said to CHALFONTS&GERRARDSCROSSnews: “We’ve been fighting this for more than 12 months, and we’ve now all got to the point where we’re just so fed up. We’re furious.
“The council doesn’t care; there’s been no empathy or professionalism from them. Some of our neighbours have young children and it’s a health hazard. There’s often about three or four crows circling the bins now.
“We pay a lot of council tax and we don’t have anything to show for it.”
Residents and the landlord of the building have previously used their own time and money to remove the rubbish and take it to a landfill, but the current waste has been there for more than three months.
A spokesperson for the residents stated that the reason BC gave for the bins no longer being collected is due to a change of contract, with the property’s address being deleted from the bin collection database.
They stated: “Every resident has complained, along with our landlord spending hours upon hours on the phone to the local council having to chase up our bin collection.
“One of my neighbours has filed a formal complaint against the council to try and get something done. Another has taken it upon themselves to drive her own rubbish to the local recycling centre using her own fuel and her own money to do a job she is paying the council to do. Another has recently been in contact with the council, and they’ve only had as a reply a written commitment to chase them [the council] regularly for a response.
“We are simply told that if the bins aren’t collected, we must ring or make an online request the day after so it can be ‘escalated’.
“This is a violation against simplistic, basic health and safety regulations. There are crows that feast upon the overflowing rubbish, rodents that are appearing on our doorstep, and most likely we are infested with maggots due to infestation of flies.
“This situation is not only a health and safety crisis issue but a humanitarian issue. The fact we have got to this state is nothing short of appalling and nothing is being done about it.
“Additionally, visually this is disgusting and embarrassing when anyone has visitors to our homes.
“This situation is unacceptable, must stop immediately and be rectified. Please take a moment to think about how you would feel if this was happening outside your home.
“Collectively as a residence, we have gone above and beyond in trying to solve this issue ourselves with patience and understanding, but enough is enough. I have completely lost faith that taxpayers have a voice.”
The residents have now had a response from Sarah Green, MP for Chesham and Amersham, who they have contacted for help. Her team has chased BC for information.
A Buckinghamshire Council spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for the past collection issues experienced at Churchfield House. We have worked extensively with our contractor Veolia to ensure that all collections are maintained as per the agreed schedule. On occasions, in the past, there have been issues with recycling being contaminated with other waste such as black sacks of household refuse. When this happens, these bins cannot be emptied to avoid contaminating the entire load of clean recycling on the vehicle. Veolia must then arrange for another vehicle to attend to empty these bins as general waste.
We believe the issue is now under control. We are in contact with the managing agent and are monitoring the collections for this property going forward. We have already swapped out old recycling bins for new ones and provided additional recycling bins. All bins have been labelled now so all residents can separate their waste and recycling.”
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