THE ELDERLY grandparents of Ruthin's mayor have only had two bin collections since June despite being on the assisted collections list - leaving medical waste piling up.

Denbighshire County Council have now apologised and admitted this level of service 'falls below their standards' - but Ruthin Mayor Cllr Jabez Redfern Oakes said he fears their case is just the tip of the iceberg as problems with the new bin collection scheme continue.   

Julian and Helen Oakes, aged 89 and 87 respectively, both have mobility issues. Mrs Oakes is wheelchair-bound and the couple have been on Denbighshire County Council's assisted collection list since 2010 as they are unable to easily move their bins when full.

But according to their daughter, Kirsten Sedgwick and Cllr Oakes, they have only had two collections in four months.

"As a family we are all in favour of reducing waste and increasing recycling rates," said Kirsten. "But my parents have been sorely let down by the chaotic implementation of the new scheme.

"They are unable to take their bins to the bottom of their drive and fetch them back, due to their rural location and their health issues. There was never a problem on the old scheme.

"We have since been told that everybody originally on the assisted collection list was cancelled. We were also told that not all residents' data was transferred to a new waste management computer system.

"My parents have carers who come in to help them with medication and such and the waste from that has been left uncollected too. We had to arrange a skip to clear it at one point because it was getting too much. 

"We have contacted the council by telephone, email and in person on numerous occasions. Unfortunately you can only speak to customer services and not directly to the Waste Management department. We made a complaint over a fortnight ago but have still not received a response.

"Despite receiving assurances from the waste management team on October 8 that  'a team will be sent to clear the missed waste and the address will be highlighted and prioritised to prevent this from happening again,' nothing has materialised.

"We are at our wits end with overflowing bins which smell and have maggots. The council need to fulfil their statutory duty."

It is the latest embarrassment for Denbighshire County Council's waste collection services since it introduced the new 'trolibocs' scheme in June. 

The scheme has been plagued missed collections and collection errors leading to Denbighshire County Council overspending by £640,000 as it tried to remedy what it has labelled 'teething problems'.

Back in July we highlighted the fact that elderly and disabled residents found it difficult to move the trolibocs bins.

And just last month Denbighshire County Council leader Jason McLellan admitted the rollout 'had not worked as they envisaged' as a report highlighted the overspend.

Among the waste left piling up at the Oakes' home by Denbighshire County Council is medical waste from their in-home care. Among the waste left piling up at the Oakes' home by Denbighshire County Council is medical waste from their in-home care. (Image: Kirsten Sedgwick)

Cllr Oakes said his grandparents' issues were potentially just the tip of the iceberg.

"Somebody needs to take responsibility and be accountable for this fiasco," he said. 

"It is obvious that the failings for my grandparents anger me personally, but it also make me wonder how many people are suffering from this who will not have the same family support.

"There will be rural areas, with vulnerable people, who will be struggling with the problem of having limited bin collections in last several months, who have no support and will just be dealing with unhygienic, environmental danger under their feet.

"I personally cannot abide the attitude of the County Council in viewing this as a 'teething problem' situation. That attitude is what leads to residents being suffering, with the threat of vulnerable people falling through the net becoming very real.

"There must be a commitment made by Denbighshire County Council that all refuse will be collected within reasonable time. No one with bins piling up will care at this stage what the cost of that would be. 

"The law passed by the Senedd and implemented by the Welsh Government is bad law and places too much obligation and responsibility on residents for the presentation of their rubbish. I appreciate that the County Council is faced with the problem that they must take waste from residents which is separated out in a certain way. But when residents try to comply, like my grandparents did, and then no one turns up to collect, there is no excuse, it is just negligence."

In a statement Denbighshire County Council said: "Our waste team is aware of this case and is looking into the issues faced by Mr and Mrs Oakes.

"We sincerely apologise for this inconvenience, this level of service falls below our standards.

"All previously registered assisted collections have been carried over to the new collection service. However, we are currently in the process of writing to all households who have been on an assisted service for more than three years to ask them to re-confirm that an assisted collection is still required.

"This is a periodic review that is consistent with our policy and is consistent with what other local authorities do.

"We do this because where people live - and who lives in those properties - changes over time, including people moving house and new residents moving in."