Fed up Urbaser customer dumps missed bins outside Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council offices

Published: 14:00, 03 February 2020

Updated: 20:29, 03 February 2020

A woman fed up with missed bin collections has taken her frustrations to the council, literally.

Like thousands of other Tonbridge and Malling residents, Hetty Grain has had to deal with her bins being missed since September, when Urbaser took over the borough's collections.

Hetty Grain was on a completely different bin collection schedule to her neighbours

The personal assistant from Northdown Terrace, Trottiscliffe, said: "I live in a mid-terraced house and don't have a wheelie bin, so my black sacks are supposed to be collected every week.

"Every Tuesday I put them out, then I call on Wednesday to complain when they're not collected. Someone at the council says they'll be collected within 24 hours, but normally they're left there until the weekend.

"I must have made around 50 complaints since September."

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Miss Grain has a wheelie bin, but it's trapped in her back garden and can't be used.

It means she is the only one in her road due to get weekly collections

Last week there were more delays.

Hetty took her missed bins to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's offices

The 31-year-old said: "It got to the weekend again and the sacks were still there, so I dumped them at the council's offices because I'm fed up.

"My parents said I could get fined for fly-tipping but I don't care, it's disgusting.

"I feel sorry for the council on one hand because it's not their fault it's Urbaser's.

"But the council hired them and they need to deal with the problems."

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Last month Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's chief executive Julie Beilby wrote a public letter to Urbaser fining the company for its poor performance.

Hetty Grain's black sacks are left at the side of the road most weeks by Urbaser

Hetty Grain outside her Trottiscliffe home when she moved in five years ago

Urbaser crews usually pick up rubbish from around 10,000 homes every day.

On the worst collection days it has missed up to 1,00 homes.

Days after the letter was sent Urbaser and TMBC hammered out an action plan to resolve months of collection chaos.

It has included putting an additional 20 trucks on the borough's roads and deploying 50 more staff.

As for Hetty, after months of complaining the council has decided to give her the same collections as her neighbours.

A TMBC spokeswoman said: "We've worked with this resident to rectify the situation, on Wednesday's we'll pick up her old bin, as well as any remaining sacks and deliver her a new wheelie bin.

"That should bring her in line with everybody else."

Kent Malling Politics Services Tonbridge

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