Bradford Council criticised over Christmas bin collections

9:00am Thursday 10th January 2013 in News

The photograph of uncollected bins in Sandy Lane, Crossflats The photograph of uncollected bins in Sandy Lane, Crossflats

Bradford Council has denied parts of the district were left looking like “shanty towns” because of poorly-planned bin collections.

The authority came under fire after some households missed out on collections for weeks because Christmas and New Years’ Day fell on their collection days.

The Council says alternate collection days were made clear to everyone who would be effected.

But Coun Glen Miller, leader of the Council’s Conservative group, said: “I would like to apologise to those affected if the Council’s absence of strategic thinking on the matter made your neighbourhoods into candidates for twinning with shanty towns.”

Janet Morrell was visiting a friend near Sandy Lane crossroads when she took a picture of bins waiting for collection. She uploaded it to photo sharing website Flickr under the title “Shame on you Bradford Council,” and users from around the world have commented.

But the Council refutes the allegation it had no plan in place, saying collections due on Christmas were instead made on December 22 and those due on Boxing Day were made on December 29. Bins scheduled for emptying on January 1 were emptied on Saturday, January 5.

It added that households affected by the changes were notified via a tag attached to each bin left out for collection in the week before Christmas and on the Council website.

Coun Andrew Thornton, executive member for environment, said: “As the Christmas and new year bank holidays always fall on the same day of consecutive weeks, we go to a lot of trouble to plan and advertise any changes to collection days. This year approximately half of the households in the district were affected by the changes and only a small number of complaints have been received.”

Comments(46)

angry bradfordian says...
9:04am Thu 10 Jan 13

My bin is usually emptied on a Wednesday, but there was no tag attached to my bin so perhaps Cllr Thornton should check what's happening around the city.

Luckily I checked on the internet as I had an overflowing bin.

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Joedavid says...
9:05am Thu 10 Jan 13

Does look bad but why have these 2 or 3 houses got so many bins and all those black bin bags?
Are they business rather than domestic?

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flashdonut says...
9:18am Thu 10 Jan 13

Council bashing again. Some folk have nowt better to do. My bin gets collected Wednesday (Thornton area). Every bin I could see got a tag around the 12th December. And I mean every bin. It quite clearly stated what dates would be missed, and what dates the rubbish would be collected instead - Saturday the 29th I believe. Folk need to get a grip and take some repsonsibility sometimes.

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bctomuk says...
9:25am Thu 10 Jan 13

I dont think a lack of bin collections had anything to do with the fact that parts of Bradford look like a shanty town!

I looked on the website well before Christmas and knew exactly when my bin would be collected.

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Old Dave says...
9:40am Thu 10 Jan 13

I'm with flashdonut on this one! I got a tag on my bin and my bin was emptied when I was told it would be with the change being that it would be emptied on the saturday between Christmas and new year, not on boxing day!!!!

Some of my neighbours, who also had tags on their bins, clearly didnt read it, or didnt remember, then then left their bin out for a few days before it was eventually emptied.

I love how some councillors spend the time that my council tax pays for criticising people on other sub committies in order to garner support from voters, rather than checking the facts.

Who in their right mind would expect their bins collecting on Christmas day, boxing day or new years day??? If I had not been brilliantly informed by the tag left by the bin men, I would have had the savvy to look it up by calling the cleansing department or looking online. Not somply trying to blame someone else. And people wonder why Britain is broken! Take some responsability!

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angry bradfordian says...
9:41am Thu 10 Jan 13

flashdonut wrote:
Council bashing again. Some folk have nowt better to do. My bin gets collected Wednesday (Thornton area). Every bin I could see got a tag around the 12th December. And I mean every bin. It quite clearly stated what dates would be missed, and what dates the rubbish would be collected instead - Saturday the 29th I believe. Folk need to get a grip and take some repsonsibility sometimes.
It may only be certain gangs that didn't put the tags on, but I can categorically say mine didn't have a tag attached- there's only a couple of places they could be attached.
The photo at the top would suggest the same unless they've been removed.

However, as you say people could have used the internet or phoned the council to check when they were going to be collected.

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Ryo says...
9:45am Thu 10 Jan 13

Our bins were put out over Xmas as per the collection date but they didn't turn up. They collected it the following week instead but as people didn't know when the bin men would turn up, the bins were just left out of the street for a week.

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Old Dave says...
9:54am Thu 10 Jan 13

Maybe Flashdonut and I are just lucky that the team that covers Thornton are better than others?

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emu999 says...
10:01am Thu 10 Jan 13

Nobody in bradford should have an overflowing bin,not if they recycled correctly.

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ertnec says...
10:04am Thu 10 Jan 13

We live in BD4 area of Bradford and could not have asked for any better service, yes areas got done a couple of days late you except this anyway due to the high demand and vehicles blocking roads. Well done to the teams.

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bubble64 says...
10:07am Thu 10 Jan 13

we were tuesday collection...we had no bin men come out on the 29th as stated on sticker...we all had our bins out on time they were emptied this tuesday our normal day !!!!

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bubble64 says...
10:08am Thu 10 Jan 13

we were tuesday collection...we had no bin men come out on the 29th as stated on sticker...we all had our bins out on time they were emptied this tuesday our normal day !!!!

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wobbley-bob says...
10:12am Thu 10 Jan 13

Old Dave wrote:
Maybe Flashdonut and I are just lucky that the team that covers Thornton are better than others?
My normal bin day in also Wednesday. Every bin around me had a tag on the handle, but the stupid element of my street still put out their bins on Christmas day night. They stayed in the street until they were emptied, as per the tag, on Saturday.

There was a screeching woman chasing the bin wagon down the street in dressing gown & fluffy slippers, dragging a full bin with her, 'cos she forgot to put it out on Friday night.......Quite a comical sight really. :)

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modman61 says...
10:12am Thu 10 Jan 13

I live in the BD2 area and can say my refuse bin was collected on the said day. However as for my recycling bins this is a different matter. They were supposed to be coming on 29/12/12 but did not turn up. I then rang up to find out when they were coming and was told it was 22/12/12 and should have had a letter. No letter received! and anyway no bin men turned up on that day either. I have since rung up 3 morne times only to be told " I'll pass it on to the inspectoor as a missed round" It's a joke as all the bins are overflowing from xmas and new year. Next collection is now due on 22/01/13. What do we pay our council tax for?

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mickcbcfc says...
10:12am Thu 10 Jan 13

this new single status left binmen with a wage cut and no over time. ive done this along time ago. xmas pull back. they dont get paid over time any more. our bins in a flat were left 3 weeks and the tag stated 29th dec. they wernt emptied till the 5th jan. theyve lost alot and are expected to work for nothing or loose pay. ridiculous. all for the council saving money.

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Desmin says...
10:22am Thu 10 Jan 13

Got to say I can't knock the festive collections. They left us a label saying when and then they did exactly what it said on the label...good on em.
(Baildon area)

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Albion. says...
10:57am Thu 10 Jan 13

My bin was emptied on the usual day and at the usual time during both Christmas and New Year weeks.....Well done council! excellent service.

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emzyem says...
11:06am Thu 10 Jan 13

my collection is tuesday as well they collected the saturday before xmas and then on the label it said 29th which they didnt turn up so i rang them up and they said there wasnt no collection on that day and i said well it says it on the label and he said the collection would be sat 5th and then they turned up on wednesday saturday and then tuesday 3x in a week

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bradfordian says...
11:09am Thu 10 Jan 13

My refuse bin was emptied the Saturday before Christmas and then collecter the following Wednesday as usual. Thanks Bradford council for the good and efficient service.

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alfucham says...
11:39am Thu 10 Jan 13

A collection on 22.12 followed by one on 5.1 2013.

With the most rubbish anyone will ever have over the christmas break.

Is it acceptable.

The call centre operator manning the phone on monday 31.12 advised me he had had hundreds of complaints.

Andrew Thornton is a liar and is paid £20000 plus a year with his special responsibilities to deliver chaos.

Fall on your sword you are simply not fit to be put in charge of anything and stop lying to your community.

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Clarabella says...
11:42am Thu 10 Jan 13

bubble64 wrote:
we were tuesday collection...we had no bin men come out on the 29th as stated on sticker...we all had our bins out on time they were emptied this tuesday our normal day !!!!
This is part of the problem, If you read the Article above properly and the tags delivered to you... Tuesdays Collections were never due on the 29th!!

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Dinkydebz says...
12:01pm Thu 10 Jan 13

I have to admit that my bins were emptied as normal as my collection day did not fall on Christmas day etc. My Mum had a tag on her bin and they collected when they said they would.
Happy customers in BD6 and BD7. Well done Bradford Council. Well organised and if you were not sure when your collections would be, they are only a phone call away or check on the internet..Easy really

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Mojohappy4 says...
12:10pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Dinkydebz wrote:
I have to admit that my bins were emptied as normal as my collection day did not fall on Christmas day etc. My Mum had a tag on her bin and they collected when they said they would. Happy customers in BD6 and BD7. Well done Bradford Council. Well organised and if you were not sure when your collections would be, they are only a phone call away or check on the internet..Easy really
Agreed - BD6 customer very happy. Thank you Bradford Council.

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flapper1 says...
12:36pm Thu 10 Jan 13

They must not have caught up yet cos they blobbed yesterday to empty mine in Clayton.

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tallulah says...
12:44pm Thu 10 Jan 13

I didn't have my bin out the week they put the tags on. However, all the dates were listed on the bradford council website

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Mutha.Slimer says...
12:52pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Most people Just either dont or cant read, all bins in my area were tagged and also had leaflets through the door, Didnt stop the idiots putting them out Xmas day and leaving them there for a week though.

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Angela Richardson says...
1:50pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Bradford Council you are a disgrace my bin was emptied on the 22nd December as promised. On the sticker on the bin it said the bin would be emptied on the 29th Dec and again on the 5th of January neither collections were made. When I tried to call the Councill there was no answer, surprise surpirise they were probably dealing with all the other people complaining. I then sent an e-mail asking for an explanation of why my rubbish hadn't been collected for nearly 3 weeks. The reply was very curt and said that the collection men had been very busy and would collect on the 8th January.

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johnhem says...
1:56pm Thu 10 Jan 13

i'm in bfd 6 too. bin tagged and collected as stated on tag. if folk are too idle or unwilling to read tags then their fault. my avenue is half a mile long, the number of bins left out was amazing.

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The obvious says...
2:35pm Thu 10 Jan 13

The bins in my area were collected and emptied as per usual. No problems and rather pleased with the polite bin men and the good service they provide.

Re the shanty town...half of Bradford has always ( in recent memory) looked like a shanty town...that half of the city may have difficulty reading insuctions re bin collections as they cannot read and lack an education and manners....these areas may not have had their bins emptied on time as the illiterates that reside their just don't read the bin labels as it doesn't say buy one get one free on it! Lol

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Angela Richardson says...
4:01pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Dear the Obvious says...

Suggest you check your own grammar before criticising others. People in glass houses and all that...

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kingpin73 says...
4:24pm Thu 10 Jan 13

I live in Great Horton area BD7 and my bins were supposed to have been emptied twice over the Christmas period going by the little tag that they left the previous week. They wer not emptied and myself and other neighbours on our street rung Bradford council and sent emails asking why are bins weren't emptied and was told they were extremely busy and would get round to it asap. In all it took them 3 weeks to collect and empty are bins and I can assure you Bradford council our street which is a pleasant cul d sac looked like a "shanty town" It also attracted rats and with the high wind we experienced the rubbish was constantly blowing around. I wonder why we pay our council tax to you at all.

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thruth9211 says...
4:53pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Its true that the government plans to put criminals back into work

I rang the council regarding waste bin collection, that never had been collected on the usual thursday. Some times just collected once every 2 weeks. The person onb the other side was disrespectful and rude with no manners on how to talk

Bloody criminal

Bradford council should re thinks is proposal on helping criminals before innocent people

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Walruss says...
5:35pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Apologies for moving slightly off topic but the web site tells me that my collections are on a Tuesday and it has been that way for some time.

Why then, is my bin emptied on a Friday and has been for the last four years?

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gemgem says...
5:37pm Thu 10 Jan 13

My bin wasn't collected on the alternative day as per the council plan. It's quite simple, there is no problem with the planning, they just can execute their plan.

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10steve says...
6:04pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Great service from our bin men over Christmas in the BD20 area no complaints here i just watch for my older neighbors putting out there bins and just follow suit works for me and well done to the bin men and the council

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wobbley-bob says...
6:13pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Angela Richardson wrote:
Dear the Obvious says...

Suggest you check your own grammar before criticising others. People in glass houses and all that...
Oh dear, there's always one smart ****.

Only a pedant gives a hoot about obvious typo's.
They don't make a point less valid.

Maybe the bin men don't like your holier than thou attitude either...... Just saying.

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Meerkat33 says...
6:43pm Thu 10 Jan 13

I live in East Bowling and received a tag on my bin to say that my Wednesday collection would be done on a Saturday which it was so cannot complain about the service. I

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Wroseman says...
8:03pm Thu 10 Jan 13

I fully agree the Council's binmen left a tag on the bin advising the collection alterations over the Christmas/New Year period. Our collection day is a Tuesday so our Christmas Day collection was made on Saturday 22nd December and our New Year's Day collection was scheduled for Saturday 5th January. " weeks at Christmas is a long time between collections but we knew the rules!. But having put out our bins on Saturday 5th January - we do not get a collection as was the same with a number of 'minor' roads in the Wrose area. The main roads had the collection but roads away from the peoples eyes were the ones neglected. We then had to wait until what would be the normal Tuesday collection on 8th January, some 17 days without a collection at what is probably the busiest period for waste in the year. There is no comment at all from the council regarding this poor service!

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recessionbites says...
9:02pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Now i don't usually comment on bin collections as my husband was a binman for years and i know how hard they work, but this year our street looked like the tip, no we didnt get our bins tagged, and when the wagon came people were rushing out to get rid of their rubbish, but not everyones home.

Im not blaming the refuse collectors but something DID go wrong in some areas

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recessionbites says...
9:03pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Now i don't usually comment on bin collections as my husband was a binman for years and i know how hard they work, but this year our street looked like the tip, no we didnt get our bins tagged, and when the wagon came people were rushing out to get rid of their rubbish, but not everyones home.

Im not blaming the refuse collectors but something DID go wrong in some areas

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Woodside123 says...
9:53pm Thu 10 Jan 13

I live in Cllr Thorntons constituency, my bins are normally emptied on a Tuesday, no tag was placed on my bin therefore I did not put it out on Saturday 22nd, when I contacted Council Contact I was advised it would be emptied on the 5th January, but it wasn't it was emptied on my normal day Tuesday 8th January, and unfortunately my street looked just like the picture above as my neighbours and I had 3 weeks refuse to collect and the lads did a grand job removing all they could we now need the sweeper on the street for all the litter that was left behind due to bags being attacked by cats! I did complain via the Council Website and am still awaiting a response.

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jackez20591 says...
10:31pm Thu 10 Jan 13

We were left a note on our bin, collection Saturday.

Nothing happened and we were left looking like a big shanty town.

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The obvious says...
12:00am Fri 11 Jan 13

Angela Richardson wrote:
Dear the Obvious says...

Suggest you check your own grammar before criticising others. People in glass houses and all that...
**** autocorrect

Report this post »

The obvious says...
12:02am Fri 11 Jan 13

The obvious wrote:
Angela Richardson wrote:
Dear the Obvious says...

Suggest you check your own grammar before criticising others. People in glass houses and all that...
**** autocorrect
Ps aR

Email and computer talk/blogs are generally an informal means of communication. Know watta mean lol

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WayneRouke says...
7:17am Fri 11 Jan 13

From the comments posted on here, I am of the opinion that,in General,the council did a reasonable to good job of collecting our rubbish.

This is borne out by the positive postters.

Whilst I concede mistakes and misses may have occurred, I get the impression that those who claim to have not had their bins emptied is by virtue of the assumption that they simply forgot to put it out,and instead of taking their forgetfullness on the chin, look for someone other than themselves to blame.

Its too easy to do.. Forget to put your bin out, and then complain that it wasnt emptied, blame the bin men and complain further that your bin is full to bursting.

We put our bin out on the appointed days and it was emptied. My only complaint is that the tag was taken off by the bin men and thrown on the floor in my drive way.

Around the corner, the bins were grouped together and they were emptied, but the sacks of extra rubbish by the side of the bins were not collected. I dont know what health and Safety rule it is that obviates putting the sack in the wagon, and I do not see why this cannot be done at peak times such as Xmas.

Bin men used to get an Xmas tip from me, but this has ceased since they have adhered strictly to 'the rules' and not gone out of their way to take the odd bit that is not in the bin.

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Jimbo19 says...
2:37pm Fri 11 Jan 13

The alternative date for what would have been a New Years day collection was advertised alright. I can't argue there. However, they didn't collect on the alternative date on 5 January despite the bins in our street being left out for emptying. It's OK advertising the alterniative dates but the Council need to actually turn up as advertised!

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