One Surrey man has been pushed to his limits by overflowing bins next to his flat. Michael Bartholomew, from West Molesey, says something needs to change after he and his children were forced to climb over mounds of rubbish to leave the building.
Micheal, 33, told Surrey Live: “Where we live, we have our block of flats, Matham Court and Priors Court next to us. We have an enclosed area for the bins, outside my child’s bedroom. The other block of flats have their bins on their side. Our bins always seem to get filled much quicker than their bins.
“When the bins have not been cleared they cover the main entrance. Its meant to be all shut away, but rubbish covers the whole floor.”
Photos from the building show piles of rubbish in the communal area. While some of it is wrapping paper, and potentially from the Christmas period, Micheal explained that the bins were constantly a problem.
He said: “I’ve been at this flat for five years now. I have said loads of times, that we need some new bins, more than what we have. It’s all the time, I have complained so many times. This is my last resort now.
Micheal says the rubbish is an ongoing problem
(Image: Michael Bartholomew)
“We need more bins or for them to be collected twice a week. Its an ongoing issue, it’s not just because of Christmas. The bins get filled, and when there’s no space it goes all over the floor.”
Micheal has reached out to Elmbridge Council as well as PA housing who manage the building, but says that improvements have yet to be made.
He also says that the rubbish as well as the placement of the bins means he sometimes struggles to leave the flat. He explained: “My partner took the boys to school on Monday, and it was hard to get out of the communal door as the bins were blocking the entrance. It’s just not good enough, if we had a fire it would be hard to get out.”
Micheal has struggled to leave his flat
(Image: Michael Bartholomew)
He also told SurreyLive that he had recently had to get someone to come and move the bins, which had been pushed up against the door, meaning he couldn’t leave.
As well as difficulty moving Micheal says the rubbish is creating unpleasant odours and attracting pests. He said: “When you walk past, food has been left out, foxes have been. There are no rats or mice at the moment but give it time.
“Council tax and rent is not cheap and you would expect that to mean the bins were cleaned when they were meant to be cleaned.”
Micheal wants the bins to be collected more regualry
(Image: Michael Bartholomew)
As a solution Micheal would like for there to be regular maintenance of the bins, more collections and perhaps an awareness campaign for how rubbish should be thrown away.
Sally-Anne Underhill, Director of Neighbourhoods and Customer Services said: “Refuse collection is the responsibility of the local authority, but we’re aware they have been unable to complete this on a number of occasions due to access issues and the bins overflowing or being cross-contaminated.”
“We know the majority of our residents are using the bins as intended and we’re sorry for the impact this is having on them. To try and help minimise the problem we’re liaising with the local authority to find a more permanent solution to the access issues and our team are actively involved with residents to raise awareness about the appropriate use of the bins. To date we have received no reports of vermin.”
”Following a report from a resident on Monday (6 January) our contractors attended on 8 January to clear the overflowing rubbish which will allow the bins to be emptied properly. Further visits by our contractors are scheduled this week and again next week to continue to monitor the situation.”
An Elmbridge Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the issues at this location and working with partners to find a long term solution. The main challenge at this site is blocked access and the refuse lorries have not been able to gain access to the bin store due to parked vehicles to empty the bins.”