WYRE Forest District Council has blamed missed waste collections on 'extreme temperatures' during the recent heatwaves, as residents say they have been left with 'festering' bins.
Matt Parsons is a resident of Britannia Gardens in Stourport and says that bin collections in the area have been 'sporadic' over the 'past couple of weeks'.
According to Matt, Wyre Forest District Council missed the 'last two collections in a row', including the scheduled collection on Friday (July 10), with residents in the area being left with 'genuinely unpleasant' smelling bins.
After complaining to Wyre Forest District Council, Matt's bin was emptied on Wednesday (July 15), but the Britannia Gardens resident now says he has been left with a waste bin that is 'festering and crawling' with flies and maggots and has called on the council to get a 'better handle' on 'planning and resourcing' waste collection services.
He said: "The bins were finally emptied today, but that's not really the point — it shouldn't have taken this long to get sorted in the first place.
"That's no reflection on the collection crews themselves, more a sign that the council needs to get a better handle on planning and resourcing the service.
"In the meantime, we've been left with a bin that's been crawling with flies and maggots, which isn't pleasant to deal with on your own doorstep, especially in this heat.
"Getting one bin emptied doesn't fix the underlying problem, and I don't think residents should have to keep going through this before anything changes."
Wyre Forest District Council has since apologised for the missed bin collection and said that it has faced 'challenges in maintaining normal collection schedules during the heatwave'.
A Wyre Forest District Council spokesperson said: "We are sorry to residents who have experienced disruption to their rubbish and recycling collections and understand the frustration this has caused, particularly during the recent period of very hot weather.
"Like many councils, we have faced challenges in maintaining normal collection schedules during the heatwave.
"This has been due to a combination of factors, including an ageing vehicle fleet, difficulties securing replacement staff at short notice when there are unexpected absences, and the measures we put in place to protect the welfare of our crews working in extreme temperatures.
"We've been working hard to catch up on missed collections, and we are grateful to residents for their patience and continued support while this continues.
"When there is a backlog, collections are not always able to take place on their usual scheduled day, but crews are prioritising affected areas and will return to collect outstanding bins as soon as possible.
"We are continuing to monitor missed collection reports to identify any recurring issues and improve reliability.
"We are also pleased to be taking delivery of the first of our new refuse collection vehicles this week, with further vehicles due to arrive in the coming months, which will help strengthen the resilience of the service."
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