Bristol Waste has told residents it’s a challenge to reach them after a ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ scheme was introduced
An image from the basement bin store at a block of flats on Victoria Avenue in Redfield, where residents say the recylcing and food waste has not been collected for four months(Image: Bristol Post submitted)
People living in a block of flats in Bristol have complained to Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste that their recycling and food waste has not been collected for four months, and now they can’t open their windows because of the smell. Bristol Waste has told residents of the flats in Redfield that the controversial East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood is to blame for the issue, but have promised their bins will be emptied this week.
The residents of the apartments at the eastern end of Victoria Avenue, opposite Redfield Primary, said they have been left with conditions that are ‘absolutely disgusting’, and have repeatedly complained to Bristol City Council, Bristol Waste and their local councillors about the situation.
The residents of the flats have a basement bin store area where all their waste and recycling is stored ready for the regular collections from Bristol Waste. But that suddenly became an issue in March, when Bristol City Council installed a ‘modal filter’ system at the end of Victoria Avenue. The Liveable Neighbourhood planters stopped vehicular traffic from turning into the road off Avonvale Road, only letting pedestrians, cyclists, bikers and scooter riders through.
To access the flats, where around 70 residents live, drivers have to turn off the A420 Church Road instead, and effectively the end of Victoria Avenue is now a dead-end for vehicles. For the first month or so, residents began noticing that their waste and recycling wasn’t being collected, so began to complain to Bristol City Council and Bristol Waste.
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After a few weeks, the residents said the trucks that collect general waste, and the cardboard/paper recycling, did begin to return, but the separate Bristol Waste crews that collect food waste, glass, plastic and cans recycling have not visited for four months.
“This is directly beneath our flats,” one resident, who declined to be named, told Bristol Live. “With the recent warm weather, the stench of rotting food has become absolutely intolerable. We can’t open our windows, and since this is a studio apartment, those are our only sources of fresh air.
“The decaying food has attracted mice and maggots, creating an even more unpleasant situation. We’ve been dousing the area with bleach near the area and the doors in a desperate attempt to combat the odour, but this is merely a temporary solution. Within a few hours, the foul smell returns with a vengeance,” she said. “It is absolutely disgusting.”
Flats at the eastern end of Victoria Avenue, in Redfield, East Bristol(Image: Google Maps)
When they first began to report the missed collections, and it became apparent there was an issue, the residents said they were told it was their fault – that the food waste and other recycling had got mixed up, so wouldn’t be collected.
“At first council told us that it was our fault – apparently recycling has been mixed up hence why it was refused by Bristol Waste,” the resident said. “But we kept pressuring as we never had this issue before, so didn’t understand how suddenly it became a problem.
“Then we thought someone new had moved in and didn’t know the rules. We created a group chat where we discuss all the issues and talk about who’s new and whatnot,” she said. “But overall it was never our fault, nor did we have incompetent neighbours. It was refused because of road closures,” she said.
In the months since the EBLN planters were installed and the bins stopped being collected, the residents began asking the crew collecting their waste why their food waste and other recycling wasn’t being collected.
An image from the basement bin store at a block of flats on Victoria Avenue in Redfield, where residents say the recylcing and food waste has not been collected for four months(Image: Bristol Post submitted)
In one of the complaints submitted to the council, one of the residents said: “I spoke to the driver of the cardboard/paper truck this morning. He said he also doesn’t like to drive his truck down our roads due to the closures, because of the difficulties that the EBLN have caused and it can be really tricky,
“So instead he parked on Avonvale Road, in front of all the EBLN planters and his crew walked down to our underground garage where all the recycling is and they wheeled the large 22 litre cardboard bins to their truck. He said that the plastic/glass/tin/food waste are in smaller bins, so there is no reason why the refuse collectors that drive that recycling truck can’t do the same as he did, and just park on Avonvale Rd, if they don’t want to reverse into our road,” she added.
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“It is becoming unbearable to live here and a health hazard. We didn’t ask for the EBLN scheme and it is not fair that these road closures mean that it is having such a negative impact on our health and wellbeing,” she wrote.
To access their flats, the truck would have to be reversed east along Victoria Avenue anything from 50 to 100 yards or, as the waste truck driver does, park on the main road and walk.
Residents in the flats turned to their local councillor, Barry Parsons (Green, Easton ) in mid-July and his intervention appears to have prompted a response.
An image from the basement bin store at a block of flats on Victoria Avenue in Redfield, where residents say the recylcing and food waste has not been collected for four months(Image: Bristol Post submitted)
Bristol Waste admitted to the residents that the Liveable Neighbourhood was the issue. In a letter to residents in answer to their complaint last month, Bristol Waste said: “We would like to sincerely apologise for the disruption and inconvenience caused by the repeated missed waste and recycling collections at your property.
“Bristol Waste is working closely with Bristol City Council to resolve these ongoing collection issues and to ensure that normal collection schedules resume as soon as possible. We are aware that the road closure at the top of Victoria Avenue due to the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood (EBLN) scheme has introduced access challenges for our crews, and this has unfortunately contributed to service disruptions in your area and are being addressed as a matter of urgency,” the letter added.
Bristol Live contacted both Bristol Waste and Bristol City Council about the issue, and a response is awaited.
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