Apology over 11-week rubbish wait

Mary Hanson describes the effect of the bin strike

A Leeds woman who says her rubbish has not been collected since a bin strike in the city started has received an apology from the council.

Mary Hanson, who lives in the Moortown area of the city, said she and some of her neighbours had not had collections since 2 September.

Mrs Hanson, 59, said she had been taking her rubbish to a tip every few weeks during the dispute.

The strike by workers, which is now in its 10th week, began on 7 September.

Leeds City Council said it was planning fortnightly collections for all households.

Mrs Hanson has been stockpiling the waste outside her house while she awaits a collection. She said she had had to stop recycling because her green bin was also full.

I'm just gobsmacked that nobody wants to listen to me, or any of my neighbours Mary Hanson

She said she had called the council twice to try and sort out the issue.

"The council keep saying they are up to date with all the bin rounds and are thinking of doing all the green bins but I haven't had my black one done yet," she said.

"Bin wagons are driving around us but they are not emptying my bins. I can't understand it."

She added: "I'm just gobsmacked that nobody wants to listen to me, or any of my neighbours. If the council can't help then nobody can."

A Leeds City Council spokeswoman said: "We are very sorry that Mrs Hanson's normal bin collection service has been so severely disrupted by the ongoing industrial action.

"When we were made aware of her situation earlier this week, we spoke to her direct and have made it our priority to recover all the waste on her next collection day.

"We are seeking improvements in the number of collections we are making daily and are working to a plan to enable households to receive at least one collection of black bin waste every two weeks."

Further talks aimed at resolving the dispute over pay are due to take place between council and union officials on Thursday.