Collections delay at flats in Chard leads to excessive amount of rubbish

David Pape, whose mother lives in a flat in Chard, said he was 'alarmed' when he heard his mother had gone to put out the bins and had seen a rat.

The black bags from the flats had not been collected for weeks, and there was also an excessive amount of fly-tipping at the site.

"I was somewhat alarmed to visit my mother a week or two back to find her somewhat agitated and distressed," said David.

"When I calmed her down she proceeded to tell me of what had happened that morning when she went to place her small amount of household rubbish in the communal waste area.

"As she tried her best to place it in the what was then overflowing wheely bins, a rat scurried out from amongst the rubbish left on the floor around one of the several wheely bins. She was alarmed to say the least.

"Since then my mother now is very reluctant to approach that area at all.

"In fact many of the residents are now either keeping rubbish bags by their doors or even inside, other see fit to dump it where ever it pleases them, adding further to the risks to health.

"The bags are broken open, making this a fast food takeaway for any creatures who see fit to dine alfresco."

The 92-year-old believed the mess was due to the three weekly collections launched as part of Recycle More, but Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) confirmed that black bin waste from flats is still supposed to be collected every two weeks.

After being contacted by your Chard and Ilminster News, the rubbish has now been cleared by SWP.

They admitted the excess was due to 'problems with waste management' at the site.

“There have been problems at this site, including the regularity of collections and illegal fly-tipping," said a spokesperson.

“The site has now been cleared, including the fly-tipped waste, and we will be working with our collections contractor and the landlord to make sure this does not happen again.

“We apologise to the residents and always encourage people to let us know about any problems with their collections as soon as possible.

“They can be reported online on the SWP website or by calling their district council.”

David also contacted Marcus Fysh, MP for Yeovil, about the issue. 

“I am pleased to have been able to help resolve this problem with Somerset Waste Partnership and will ask for updates to see the collections are running smoothly," said Mr Fysh.

"Please do dispose of larger items such as furniture responsibly and if you do have a missed collection or are unsure of when your collections are do contact the District Council who will be able to help.

"In this case it was down to a technical error rather than any change in policy and was relatively easy to fix.”