A fed-up resident whose bins were not emptied for almost three weeks has resorted to paying for his rubbish to be taken away.
Michael Hutchinson is one of many across Swale, Maidstone and Ashford who have been plagued by disruption to collections.
It comes after waste company Suez took over the £152 million contract from Biffa on March 25.
Problems with the service has resulted in rubbish piling up and overflowing bins.
The 39-year-old had not had any waste collected from his property in Pavilion Drive, Kemsley, near Sittingbourne, since the new operator took over.
Despite forking out monthly for council tax, dad-of-three Mr Hutchinson decided to hire the services of independent company, RLL Waste Solutions, to get rid of his rubbish.
It cost a total of £10 – £5 each for his garden and recycling bins.
“We had them over and they cleared both green and blue bins, which was such a relief especially over half-term with the kids at home,” he said.
“Our bins were full and we were having to store bags of rubbish in our garden.
“I had already done one run to the tip myself, but the green bin was stinking so I didn’t fancy sorting that and taking it down in our car.
“I shouldn’t have to pay to get my bins cleared as that’s what we pay our council tax for, but the reality was that if we didn’t do something, our bins would have continued to get worse and worse until Suez actually managed to get round to us.”
His bins were emptied on Friday (April 12) and, ironically, Suez crews arrived in his road later the same day.
He added: “I’m pleased I did it as it’s been a tenner well spent, because it had been nothing short of a nightmare before.
“When I looked at the homes which had seen their bins taken from Suez, they had taken just what was in the bins – not the rubbish around them.
“So that’s made it just as ridiculous, as the wind has still blown it all over the place.
“I understand there is going to be teething problems with anything new, but I pay my council tax so expect better.
“The reality at the minute is it will keep filling up which will mean you have to start storing it in the back garden or go to the tip.
“But even that is awkward because it makes your car stink, so seeing the company come-and-go within a couple of minutes was brilliant.”
A mum, who lives in Sittingbourne High Street, said that as of Friday (April 12) she and her neighbours had not had one bin collection since March 20.
“I have reported each time, called and emailed, and was promised each time it would be solved within two days,” she said.
“People are just dumping their bags everywhere around our bins.
“I have a disabled son and we use a lot of nappies daily and I can’t even describe the toll this takes on us.”
With the mounting pile of waste becoming unbearable, on Saturday she paid to have the bins emptied “as it wasn’t liveable anymore, the smell and the bin bags everywhere”.
Speaking yesterday evening (April 15), Swale council says efforts are continuing to be made to fix the backlog.
A statement read: “We had five crews out over the weekend catching up on missed collections and they made some good progress, though they didn’t get everywhere we’d have liked.
“There were three additional crews working to support the catch up today and we have a further three planned for [April 16].
“As mentioned before, the focus of these catch ups is the delayed general waste and food collections.
“The collections once again struggled to complete the narrow vehicle rounds.
“We know these routes aren’t working as hoped and there will be some changes this week.
“There may need to be further changes to these in future and some properties may have a change in collection day, but we’ll let people know if we need to do that.”
However, frustration has led to some people becoming embroiled in heated exchanges with binmen.
Cllr James Hunt (Con, The Meads) said: “One thing more noticeable is residents are getting angry, and rightly so, but there are reports the collection crews are being intimidated, spat at and shouted at by some people.
“I can assure everyone councillors, council officers and the crews are doing as much as possible to sort the situation out, and we want to see things sorted out as much as residents.
“It is wrong that anyone should get abuse, and it won’t be tolerated.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Monique Bonney (Swale Independents, West Downs) added: “The focus is to collect those outstanding the longest, especially green and food waste.
“More resources are coming on stream this week and operatives are becoming more familiar with the new rounds, which officers hope will speed up rounds.
“Please try to temper your frustration at the delays. I’m aware there have been some unfortunate incidents in the last few days with the public [like] verbal abuse of staff, operatives being spat at, threats etc.
“This is unacceptable. We need staff and crews to get on and do their job as quickly as possible.
“I know it’s frustrating – even more so when waste is not being secured and blowing all over the place.”
