High Peak Borough Council has come under fire after residents in certain areas were left with bins not emptied for a month. 

Residents raised the issue around failed bin collections with local MP Robert Largan, who has urged the authority to resolve the issues as soon as possible after they blamed staff absence due to Covid and general sickness. 

The MP said residents are increasingly concerned about ongoing missed collections, with some reporting rubbish piling up on streets and increased problems with vermin. 

He said: “Many local people have contacted me to express their concern about missed bin collections, particularly in Whaley Bridge, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Chinley, Combs and Wash. 

“With the removal of all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, it is time for High Peak Borough Council to get a grip and resolve their staffing problems once and for all. 

“Bin collections are an essential function of any local council, and all High Peak residents deserve to receive the service they are paying for with their council tax." 

Jean Todd, Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and Community Safety at HPBC, acknowledged the service has not been as reliable as usual and apologised to the small proportion of rural properties that have experienced disruption.  

She said: “AES collect over 64,500 bins in the High Peak every week and this has affected around 1.7 per cent of properties but we know that this is frustrating for those households.   

“These rural rounds are served by smaller collection vehicles and some of them have been unavailable due to breakdowns.” 

She said delays in importing vehicle parts and a lack of suitable alternatives available to hire had had an impact. 

“We’re reviewing alternative collection methods and training more staff to cover the ongoing driver shortages which have been well documented nationally and are also an issue locally.” 

Cllr Todd said the council had a duty to protect staff and residents and follow public health advice and government guidance if staff needed to stay off work.  

She praised them for their efforts in maintaining regular waste and recycling collections throughout the pandemic which had seen staff working overtime or being redeployed from other areas to ensure a seamless service. 

“The cost of waste collection to a household via their council tax is around £46.50 per year and each household should receive a total of 77 collections which equates to a cost of 60p per collection,” said Cllr Todd. 

“I’d like to thank our residents for their understanding and their patience whilst we work through these current issues and assure them that we are working hard to address them.” 

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