Woman's recycling left uncollected for one month

Moving recycling boxes puts Louise Turner at risk of fractures, so the city’s binmen are meant to help her out by going into her garden to collect her rubbish.

But now her recycling is almost overflowing as her home in Larkfield Way, Brighton, was last collected on Thursday, May 3 – despite the council promising it would be picked up by last Wednesday after she complained.

Her boxes and bin were in the usual place inside the front wall but skipped over during the last two scheduled rounds.

When she was diagnosed with osteoporosis Mrs Turner organised an assisted collection with Brighton and Hove City Council, meaning City Clean workers will go into the garden to collect her rubbish.

After her first collection was missed on Thursday, May 17 she reported it to City Clean via email and Facebook.

When Thursday, May 31 came she hoped her garden would be clear – but the trash was still there.

She said: “I’m pretty sure everyone else’s was collected as they all wheeled their bins in.

“I heard them coming around quite early in the morning and thought good.

“When I did go out I couldn’t believe it.”

Mrs Turner ensures all her recyclables are clean and separates glass from everything the city council recycles.

On Tuesday, June 5 a council spokesperson said: “We’d like to apologise to Mrs Turner for her missed recycling collections.

“We will be going out to clear her recycling in the next 24 hours, and will also be contacting her to make sure that in future she gets the refuse and recycling service she requires.”

But a week later, the recycling still hasn’t been collected.

Sarah Booker-Lewis is the Local Democracy Reporter for Brighton & Hove.

For more of her stories, click here.