Mother Faces Overflowing Bins After Early Rubbish Collection

A mother in Riddings, Scunthorpe, expressed her frustration after her rubbish bins were collected earlier than the scheduled time of 7:00 a.m. On August 15, 2023, Fallon McMahon found herself dealing with overflowing bins filled with dirty nappies due to the unexpected collection time.

Following the incident, McMahon contacted customer services at North Lincolnshire Council to address the issue. “They came early and we reported it straight away,” she stated. After her initial complaint, she received an email confirming that the council would follow up within three working days. However, subsequent phone calls revealed delays. “I rang on Wednesday, and they said, ‘It will be another day’; then I rang on Friday, and they said they are not coming,” she explained. The rubbish was not collected until August 27, causing significant inconvenience.

This incident has raised concerns about communication practices within the council. McMahon noted that several residents experienced similar issues due to the early collection. “I’ve got bags of nappies on my kitchen side, food. I can’t leave it outside because it gets raided by rats,” she said. She emphasized the difficulties of managing waste with three children at home, particularly during the school holidays. “You can imagine the smell in my house from nappies. It is just awful,” she added.

McMahon speculated that the early collections were a result of staffing shortages. She suggested that the council should proactively communicate changes to collection times to residents. “Even if they are short-staffed, they have all of our phone numbers from Council Tax and could send out a text to say, ‘Please put your bins out tonight because we are coming early in the morning,'” she proposed. “But they didn’t do any of that and now we are just stuck with rubbish.”

In response to the complaints, a spokesperson for North Lincolnshire Council confirmed that a review of their tracking system indicated that the collection team arrived at 6:45 a.m., well ahead of the scheduled time. “We have provided additional training to the crew to ensure future collections adhere to the designated schedule,” the spokesperson stated. They also mentioned that an additional collection was scheduled for August 27 to address the issue.

This incident occurred against the backdrop of a planned overhaul of the waste collection system in North Lincolnshire. Earlier this summer, the council announced a new streamlined system set to begin in April next year. Under this plan, households will receive a single large wheelie bin for all dry recycling, eliminating the need for separate boxes currently used for paper and glass, foil, and cans. Additionally, garden waste and food will be collected in the same bin.

As the community grapples with these changes and the recent collection mishap, residents like Fallon McMahon continue to advocate for better communication and service from local authorities.