Calderdale residents who have waited six weeks for rubbish finally have bins collected

Residents of a Calderdale street waited six weeks from January until early March for their household waste to be collected.
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Householders at Cooperfields, Luddenden Foot, have finally had their rubbish cleared. The previous collection had been on January 26.

Resident Amber Wylie said there had been no issues for five years before that and people understood issues around poor winter weather, but felt missing the other intervening fortnightly collection dates was “going beyond a joke.”

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Calderdale Council said that collection had been made last week by contractors Suez and said access had been a problem for the company’s vehicles, a problem not just at Cooperfields but more widespread.

The waste piled up at Cooperfields, Luddenden Foot, before it was finally collectedThe waste piled up at Cooperfields, Luddenden Foot, before it was finally collected
The waste piled up at Cooperfields, Luddenden Foot, before it was finally collected

Amber said residents were worried about issues with uncollected rubbish attracting vermin.

“If it hasn’t already I’m sure it won’t be long before we soon have pest and environment issues. The path is full of rubbish bags,” she said.

One morning a bin wagon which Amber described as “the biggest in their fleet” arrived which could not gain access because of parked cars but this was at 7.25am when people had not yet left for work.

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Usually a smaller waste collection vehicle serves the road, said Amber.

Councillor Jenny Lynn, who is Calderdale Council’s Cabinet member for Public Services and Communities, said the authority appreciated there had been issues for which is apologised but contractors had tried to gain access at different times of day and had been unable to do so.

“We are sorry about the missed waste collections at Copperfields. We are aware of the issue and have spoken to the resident who reported this.

“Crews attempted the collections several times, at different times of the day, but unfortunately they were not able to get the vehicle down the street due to parked cars blocking access each time.

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“On the latest collection attempt, a supervisor from Suez went ahead of the crew to try to identify the car owners so the vehicles could be removed.

“The collections were successfully made last week,” she said.

Coun Lynn (Lab, Park) said access had become an issue.

“We are seeing more issues with parked cars blocking access recently.

“The collection vehicles need enough space to turn into streets, so if cars are parked near or opposite junctions, it’s not possible for the collection vehicles to turn in.

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“We encourage all residents to please consider this when parking their cars.

“All waste and recycling teams continue to do a fantastic job with the added pressures of COVID-19, a huge increase in household waste and recycling during the pandemic, and the recent bad weather,” she said.

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