MP steps in after villages report missed bin collections

SEVERAL villages have been affected by missed bin collections over the summer.

Residents in Stonor and Russell’s Water had bin collections delayed and in Swyncombe bins had not been collected for up to two weeks.

Workers for Biffa, the waste contractor, is said to have been stretched, finding it difficult to keep up with demand.

Following the intervention of Swyncombe Parish Council and new Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo residents now say that the collections have mostly returned to normal.

Stephen Christie-Miller, who lives in Swyncombe, said that the hamlet had been affected sporadically for a number of months.

He said: “We had a number of weeks where they weren’t collected. They did in the end but some time, weeks, later. They kept blaming it on a new driver who got lost. It’s been on and off for a number of months this year. It’s just been sporadic. When it’s hot you don’t want rubbish lying around festering.”

Mr Christie-Miller said the recent irregularities were a shame as up until recently the waste collection had always been good. He hoped the issues would be resolved going forward, however.

He said: “It’s all our hamlet that has been affected. In the end, we got the new MP involved and it’s sorted itself out.”

His neighbor Rob Dixon described the missed collections as frustrating. He said: “Quite a few weeks they just missed them completely. It’s not that serious, it’s just incompetence.

“I ring up after and they refuse to do anything about it. They say they can’t do anything but normally ringing works out well.”

Liz Longley chairman of Swyncombe Parish Council said the council had raised the issue with South Oxfordshire District Council, the waste and recycling authority, on behalf of residents.

She said: “I think it’s all now resolved as far as I am aware. It was a a period of two weeks where there was no collection at all and prior to that it was a bit haphazard

“We had problems where they weren’t going down to Swyncombe it seems to pick up the bins because of miscommunication and a lack of training.”

Pishill with Stonor Parish Council parish clerk Pat Pearce said that whilst Stonor had been affected but the issue had now been resolved.

She said: “We had a problem which has sorted itself out now. It was quite obvious it was to do with it being the holidays.

“They weren’t collected during Tuesday day time but they would come first thing on Wednesday morning.”

Councilor Felicity Hunt from Pishill With Stonor Parish Council said that the missed collections were a minor inconvenience. She said: “There has been a few missed over the last month or so. The bins get collected on the Wednesday instead of the Tuesday. I logged it a couple of times when they were running late.

“Generally the bins are left out two days, max one day. It got to a point where it didn’t surprise you that if you put your bin out it didn’t get collected.

“I don’t think it’s a big issue. It’s being monitored. The past two weeks as far as I’m concerned they have been collected on time in Stonor. It has been pretty annoying but it’s not big problem.”

A statement from Biffa said: “A small number of properties on Tuesday collections have been experiencing problems with missed rounds. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

“We have now resolved the issue and put measures in place to prevent it from happening again.”