On this day: Denbighshire complains of bins full of maggots

Rhyl Journal

24-07-2025

The local authority introduced its new Trolibocs system the month prior but was forced to apologise after collections for some had gone weeks overdue.
The council was supposed to collect recycling on a weekly basis whilst rubbish collections were made every four weeks as opposed to the old two-week system.
The council expected residents to separate items such as paper, plastic, metal, food cartons, and glass themselves to help cut costs.
But a number of residents across the county slammed the service as bins and recycling containers remained unemptied.
The council argued that most collections took place as planned.
Stuart Davies, of Fron Bach in Llangollen, a former deputy leader at Denbighshire County Council, claimed his recycling and food waste containers hadn't been emptied for two weeks whilst some neighbours had waited three.
He said: 'They are still missing collections out.
'I've been emailing the chief exec, the head of service, the corporate director, and they are just ignoring us. The food waste bin is full of maggots, and it is just not on.
'There are flies everywhere. It is stinking. The lanes are half blocked because the neighbours have left their Trolibocs out.
"People can't deliver parcels.
Fellow Llangollen resident Jane Palombella claimed the road was too narrow for refuse collectors to work.
She said: 'As we thought, the new collections don't work.
'The workers have not got room to put the sides of the truck down, so they can't load the recycling.
'They are now refusing to come up here.
"We have had no recycling collection for two weeks, our neighbours three weeks.
'Theirs included food waste too. We seem to be at an impasse with the council now.'
A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said at the time: 'The majority of recycling and residual waste collections have been completed as planned under the new waste and recycling service.
'We however accept that a number of residents didn't receive the service planned and this has caused difficulties for them.
'The council is continuing to closely monitor the roll out of the new service and is doing everything we can to make sure that all residential waste collections are made as planned.
'We would also again like to thank all residents for their efforts to ensure that their recycling is sorted correctly and placed in the appropriate containers.
'These efforts are continuing to greatly improve the quality of the recycling materials collected and this is really appreciated.'
This story was first reported on by Marko Vranic on July 24, 2024.