There have been calls for an emergency meeting at Belfast City Council to address a "crisis" of repeated missed bin collections.
SDLP Lisnasharragh councillor Seamas De Faoite has called for an emergency meeting to address the "bin crisis" saying that residents are losing confidence in the council to deliver basic services, while it plans for a "significant rates increase".
He said that he is aware of a number of streets in the Wynchurch area of Belfast where bin collections have been delayed three times in recent weeks, and that other streets in the city had been affected.
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The councillor said that the issues with missed collections come after the Council had problems with glass recycling and brown bins.
He would like to see an emergency meeting of the People and Communities Committee in order to get an update from the council on staffing levels, equipment and vehicle upkeep.
He said: "The bin crisis has been exasperated by the last minute cancellation of planned bin collections over the Christmas period.
“Councillors had been assured that previous issues with staffing levels and bin lorries had been resolved.
“ Belfast City Council is already considering significant rates increases, yet residents are already losing confidence in it to deliver basic services like bin collections.
“Residents and Councillors need urgent assurance that bin collection services can return again, without fear of further disruption.”
The council has said that a shortage of drivers over the Christmas and New Year period impacted on the delivery of bin collections.
A Belfast City Council spokesperson said: “Due to a shortage of drivers there was an impact on some bin collections over the Christmas and New Year period. We recognise this is an inconvenience for residents and regret that our service delivery was impacted. We apologise to any residents affected. Work is ongoing to increase the pool of drivers to support the service.”
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