“They told me we had contaminated a bin and would not take it away" - Blackpool family's bin bag blast - but council hits back

A Blackpool family of five have been faced with a mountain of rubbish bags because of an issue over their bins.
Georgina Steele is furious with Blackpool Council after they refused to collect her rubbishGeorgina Steele is furious with Blackpool Council after they refused to collect her rubbish
Georgina Steele is furious with Blackpool Council after they refused to collect her rubbish

Georgina Steele, 26, of Condor Grove, says there are 10 bags of rotting rubbish causing a real stink in their front garden, and they were terrified of rats.

Mrs Steele, who lives at the house with husband Ashley, 28, and their three children, says the problem escalated because they did not have enough bins to accommodate all their rubbish and Blackpool Council refused to take their refuse away.

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But the council says the family were not using their recycle bins properly, which meant they could not be emptied.

Mrs Steele said: “They told me we had contaminated a bin and would not take it away.

“It has been a nightmare, we couldn’t fit all the rubbish in our bins and it has just added up and in the recent hot weather it was really smelling.”

However, John Blackledge, director of community and environmental services, said: “In April the contents of the blue bin at the premises were not removed because it contained material that should not be deposited in this type of bin.

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“During the same period we did receive a report of a missed grey bin collection and this waste was removed on the same day.

“The resident has purchased an additional grey bin which will be delivered next week should give them more waste capacity.

“If anyone feels one grey bin is not enough we may be able to provide a larger or extra bin for a small charge.”

Details of Blackpool’s Family Audit application can be found on the council’s website along with information on what waste can be correctly deposited for disposal or recycling.

Additional ways in which the council can help remove excess bin bags can be explained by the council's Customer First team.