Green bin problem is driving them mad

7:43am Friday 20th June 2008

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DISABLED pensioner Roland Dowd threatened a community charge protest over his green bin collection.

After six weeks of being left out of the round he vowed to hire a private contractor to shift the garden rubbish and deduct the cost from his council tax.

Roland, 78, who suffers from MS, and his disabled wife, Audrey, have nothing but praise for the black bin collectors, but the green bin problem is driving them to distraction.

For the past two years Roland, who walks with the aid of a frame, has been unable to pull the bin to the front for collection so made arrangements with the council for it to be picked up from the back of his Golborne bungalow.

But the system doesn’t seem to be working. Six weeks went by without a collection and promises to pick it up fell by the wayside.

Roland, who employs a gardener, said: “It’s just not good enough. If people can’t do a job they should be sacked. It seems I am going to have to resort to desperate measures to solve the problem .Then what would happen - a pensioner threatened with jail.”

Fortunately after I highlighted the case the waste was collected the following day and a council spokesman said: "We have only just become aware of this problem and would apologise to Mr Dowd for the inconvenience. We don't anticipate any further problems."

Let’s hope there won’t be.