Corby man frustrated at wait for bin to be collected

A man from Corby has spoken of his frustration after waiting weeks for his overflowing bin to be collected.

Christopher Kelly of Clifton Square was left feeling outraged when his brown bin wasn’t collected by North Northamptonshire Council, prompting him to phone up to complain.

According to Mr Kelly he was told on the phone that, if he had any excess rubbish, he would have to put it in black bags and in the bin, ready to be collected the following week.

But the following week (Thursday, October 27), his bin was again not collected.

Mr Kelly once again phoned the council and says he was told that because the black bags he filled up were put inside the bin, as he was previously told to do, it was classed as contaminated.

Mr Kelly also said that council staff told him that, if he had left the bags at the side of the bin on the path waiting to be collected, they would have been picked up and the brown bin emptied.

He said: “I couldn’t believe what she was saying. I did everything I thought was correct.”

The council has since resolved the situation and Mr Kelly’s overflowing bin has now been emptied – but had this not been the case he would have had to wait another two weeks.

A North Northamptonshire Council spokesman said: “We have made direct contact with the resident in question and the matter has been resolved. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“We have made changes to all the collection rounds in Corby and as a result this resident had experienced some difficulties with the recycling.

“In general all recycling should be placed loose in the bin and any additional recycling can be presented alongside the bin, so long as it is in a container that the collections teams can tell it is recycling.

“A cardboard box is a perfect occasional additional container.

“If recycling is in bags – including black bags - it is difficult to tell if the material has been contaminated or not, so it will not be collected.

“If residents regularly produce more recycling, they can contact the waste team so additional clear sacks can be provided.”