Rhyl residents dump rubbish on street after weeks of no collections

People living on Princes Street chose to rid their properties of their mounting piles of binbags yesterday, following three missed collections by Denbighshire County Council earlier in June.

This resulted in refuse collectors clearing the rubbish off the streets this morning.

Rubbish left on Princes Street by residents (Image: Submitted)

On June 3, the council introduced changes to recycling and waste collections, including new containers and weekly collections for recyclable materials, and the scrapping of the blue wheelie bin.

Since then, some residents have been required to separate their “dry” recycling using a new three-tier “Trolibocs”.

But the council has so far issued multiple apologies for residents across the county not having their bins collected on time.

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Residents of Princes Street have not been given a Trolibocs, nor do they bins to store their rubbish – meaning bin bags are left outside their homes, with some having a metal cage to store them in to deter seagulls.

Peter Saunders, who was one of the residents to dump his rubbish at the end of the street last night, said: “We didn’t want to do that last night, but were pushed into doing it.

“We just couldn’t stand it anymore - the smell, the rats, the flies… we just want our rubbish collected regularly.

“We did it because it was stinking and rotten. It was disgusting.

“It got to the point that we couldn’t have our windows open anymore, and we still have flies in the house now because it stank so much. We’ve got dog waste, food waste, and nappies in those bins.”

Rubbish left on Princes Street by residents (Image: Submitted)

Peter said his wife has rang the council 14 times in the last three weeks regarding the bins, and that they have used up two cans of fly spray in the last week.

As well as the bin bags outside their home, Peter said there were six more stored inside his house.

The next collection on Princes Street is due to take place on July 1, meanwhile.

Peter added: “We normally fill five big bags of rubbish up a week, if not more, so there were about 15 bags up to yesterday.

“And even if we had a Trolibocs, we can only have one per house, or pay for another one. We’ve got six people living here, so one would be no good.”

Jim Logan, a neighbour of Peter’s, was also involved in the dumping of rubbish at the end of the street last night.

He said that “half of the street was involved” in doing so, and added that he is critical of the way in which the new system has been implemented by the council.

Rubbish left on Princes Street by residents (Image: Submitted)

“Sometimes, the end justifies the means,” Jim said.

“I was more than happy when I looked out of my window this morning and saw my rubbish gone. In our cages and in our binbags, our rubbish would have been almost guaranteed not to go today.

“This is a management issue; it’s not been thought through. The platitudes from the council don’t wash at all.

“I don’t know why they rolled it all out in one big go, instead of ward by ward, with a time and motion study.

“After three or four weeks, our metal cages were full to the top with rubbish, with more bags to the side and in our houses.

“Emptying those cages out last night was disgusting, but I’m pleased it worked because all of the bins are empty now. But why did it have to come to that?”

Denbighshire County Council has previously said that the new scheme will help it save money, create jobs, and reach Welsh Government’s recycling target.

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: “We are aware that that as we continue to roll out the new waste and recycling service, there are still a number of missed collections for which we apologise for.

"Our waste team is working very hard to catch up with the current backlog and had cleared the waste on Princes Street, Rhyl by 8.30am today.

"However, we would like to remind residents that fly-tipping is illegal."