Blackburn residents warned to take unemptied bins off pavements (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Blackburn residents warned to take unemptied bins off pavements

9:05am Monday 18th January 2010 in

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RESIDENTS in Blackburn are “absolutely fuming” about a council notice telling them to take their bins off the pavements, despite waste not being collected since before Christmas.

A notice was pushed through doors on Thursday asking householders to take the bins off the pavements after collection, or face enforcement action.

The move, which is aimed at preventing vandalism and theft, has angered residents who said here had been a lack of communication from the council over times of collection and where to leave waste.

Jackie Boardman, of Longshaw Lane, in the Infirmary area, said: “What collection? Ours bins have not been emptied for weeks.

“If you were brave enough two or three weeks ago to put the bins out you got a little note about none collection and a pale purple plastic bag.

“Since then nothing till this leaflet. One of the things we were told is that if we leave the bins out we could have enforcement action taken against us.

“There was no ‘sorry we cannot empty your bin till your next normal collection day’, which for us is Tuesday, or any offer of help to get the bins back in.

“How do they expect the older or sick people to drag heavy frozen bins back in to their yards then push them out again?

“We feel like they’re taking the Michael out of us.”

Councillor Tony Melia, deputy leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Under normal circumstances there are certain regulations about leaving bins out, and good reasons for them to be enforced.

“However, in these exceptional and difficult conditions, there is a lot of leeway being given.

“If people have a good reason why they are struggling to get bins in and out then I don’t think there will be any problems in temporarily relaxing the rules.”