Stockport Council will arrange to collect any wheelie bins that have been left unemptied over the last few days.

Bin crews will be returning throughout the coming weekends to redress any missed collections from 21-29 July.

It follows complaints from residents after hundreds of bins were left uncollected.

The skipped collections are understood to have been caused by a message sent by Totally Local Company (TLC) - which operates Stockport's bin services - to its staff. The message instructed staff not to collect wheelie bins where the lid is open.

Whilst this is not a new policy, the new enforcement of this rule was more strict than usual, which subsequently left hundreds of people with uncollected bins.

Stockport Council confirmed that, when crews return, the lid will have to be fully closed for collections to be made.

Crews will be returning on the following days:

• Those affected between 21-24 July - present your missed blue or black bin for collection by 6am on Saturday 1 August. If it hasn't been collected, crews will come back Sunday 2 August
• Those affected between 27-29 July - present your bins from 6am on Saturday 8 August. If it hasn't been collected, crews will come back on Sunday 9 August.

Peter Crossen, Conservative councillor for Bramhall South & Woodford, has asked for clarification on whether the closed lid rule extends to bins which have warped over time through use - which may not be full but may no longer close flush against the bin due to wear and tear.

He has also asked for more detailed information on when bins will be collected in the Bramhall South & Woodford ward.

Councillor Jake Austin, who oversees bin collections at Stockport Council, has since apologised for the missed collections.

"It has evidently not been the practice at TLC to follow this [lid-closed] policy strictly for a number of years", he said. "As a result of this, a sudden change in practice to enforce stricter use of this policy has left residents (and councillors alike) blindsided by a sudden perceived shift in how their bins are emptied.

"We are all aware of how difficult it can be to navigate any change to how bin collections are done."

"While officers were made aware of this change in approach, the significance of the decision and its likely impact on residents was unfortunately not escalated to senior council officers, councillors or the administration.

"As a result, we were not given the opportunity to make sure residents and councillors were aware of the changes in advance, understood what they would mean in practice, and were properly prepared. Many of us therefore became aware of the scale of the impact only once residents began experiencing issues with collections and contacting their local councillors.

"It is clear that communication and escalation processes did not work as they should have done in this instance. Whatever the rationale for the operational change, residents and councillors should have received advance notice and a clear explanation of what was changing and why.

"We are reviewing how decisions with significant resident impact are communicated to ensure this does not happen again.

"Regardless of this, I am still ultimately responsible for how this is handled at the council, and I am sorry for the disruption this has caused our residents – and to you as councillors – who have no doubt had a substantial increase in enquiries from the residents you represent over the last five days.

"The lack of communication around the implementation of this change was clearly unacceptable. Residents and councillors should have been made aware and been prepared in advance, and I am sorry that did not happen.

"As an administration, we are focused on putting this right and ensuring lessons are learned so that changes with a significant impact on residents are communicated properly in future."

~

Free from clickbait, Stockport Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

To get our top stories in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.

Please consider following Stockport Nub News on Facebook or X