Raging Edinburgh residents claim they have to keep waste in their homes due to council workers not emptying communal bins correctly.
Alistair Clarke, who works with the NHS, is joined by a number of neighbours in condemning waste workers for not fully emptying bins. He says that communities in Clermiston are faced with bin men who only empty the containers when full to the brim.
Having lived in the community for around ten years, he says that the last ten months have been challenging with the way that their communal waste is emptied. It is claimed that the problem has become an almost weekly occurrence, where bins will be left on one of their two designated disposal days if they are found to not have enough waste in them.
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But Alistair says that this has led to a backlog on weekends where residents are forced to keep rubbish in their flats. He says his street, Glenmure Loan, has been hit hard with him capturing footage of waste not being properly disposed of.
He claims to have captured footage of waste workers selectively only take a couple of bags out of the five foot communal bin when it is half full instead of emptying it entirely. When challenging a driver on one occasion, Alistair says he was met with a rude response.
He said: “I complained about this last year and a manager assured me that it would be dealt with. They gave a raft of promises with all the bells and whistles.
“But the problem has persisted and it has even continued earlier this week. I’ve actually managed to capture footage of those emptying the bins not doing their job properly.
“You can see one of the workers grab a bag out of the half full bin and just walk towards the lorry. They should be emptying the entire bin. Instead they are leaving them if they are half full. I cannot understand why and all it does it lead for more work for their colleagues.
“We are supposed to have our waste emptied twice a week and I don’t know if they just think sod it, the next lorry will get it when it is full. The problem is that people work Monday to Friday, so you see a build up of waste on the weekends when folk get a chance to clean.
“I’ve had to keep black bags in my flat as the bins are now overflowing due to them not being properly emptied. We can’t leave them outside for the foxes to get them or else it would be all over the street.
“I’d lost my cool earlier this week and marched down to the lorry to say they had not emptied our bin properly. I said I’d had enough of this, and later apologised for being so irate, but when a younger waste worker came back to empty the bin he made a cheeky comment about us getting our bins emptied twice a week.
“It seems like a cultural problem as the young lad seemed to think it was acceptable to only grab a couple of bags. This isn’t just about our block on Glenmure Loan as after I posted on Facebook a number of people came back to say the same is happening on other streets.
“I feel this is really unfair on the back of a pandemic. You really feel for those with disabilities and the elderly who are having to live with black bags in their warm flats due to the bins overflowing on the weekends. It needs to be sorted.”
Several other residents have noticed an issue with their bins not being emptied appropriately in Clermiston. Many of them state that the problem has been ongoing for some time.
Kirsten Robson, of Hoseason Gardens, said: “They do this all the time. We have 12 flats and they do it to us too. They even take the bin and if something falls from it they leave it behind them on the path. I had to pick up a load of rubbish that had fallen yesterday and put it in the bin once they had left. If you complain they do nothing about it even if it is publicly on Twitter.”
Alan Geary, who’s mother-in-law ‘s flat is impacted on Rannoch Grove, said: “This has happened to my mother-in laws stair. I'm sure she has a direct phone number for the person in charge of the refuse collections. The guys have been made to come back and empty the bin after she has phoned up.”
Rona Allison, has also been troubled by the issue at her home on Ransome Gardens, she said: “They do this all the time and when questioned they responded by saying it was not worth their while pulling out the bins when they aren’t full. There are six of us in the stair and the next time they came the bin was overflowing.”
Responding to Alistair's complaint, a spokesperson for Edinburgh City Council said: “This particular location is a Wednesday/Saturday collection. The Area Supervisor is investigating whether the crew have raised any particular problems but also will advise to ensure bins are emptied fully as they should be.
“An officer will also review bin provision at this location to make sure it is sufficient for the numbers of residents.”
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