Residents on a boating marina are urging the council to empty their communal rubbish bin after being left for three months creating a ‘mountain of waste’ that is a haven for rats.
Around 15 boaters live at the marina in Upware but a communal metal bin has been left for weeks creating a stench of piled up rubbish.
Peter Barnett said: “It’s a mountain of waste. It’s pretty appalling. We have been really struggling. The rats get into the metal bin because the back is rusty.
“They then break open the bags and rubbish goes everywhere.
“As the metal bin overloads our black bags have to be put outside of the container so of course the rats get in it all. It is kitchen bin waste and all sorts.
“In this hot weather, you might imagine, it has got a lot worse.”
The metal bin is in the car park of the Five Miles From Anywhere pub and is supposed to be emptied every week by East Cambs District Council, he said, but it was last officially emptied three months ago.
“We were told by the council we would get an 1,100 litre bin. A good sturdy plastic type with a lid, but it has never appeared.”
It got so bad that a couple of weeks ago Peter got into the bin and hand balled it out into new black bin bags.
These were then collected as an emergency job, arranged by the manager of waste management, he said.
“We don’t have recycling either, but that almost seems nothing compared to the mess of the black bin waste.
“I have an email from January stating that recycling capabilities would be made available to us. Then silence.”
Three weeks ago he arranged a meeting with a manager from the waste team, after the collection team left “an obscene mess of loose waste riddled with maggots wriggling on the floor.”
“He turned up early and left without a call before I could meet at our prearranged time.
And despite promises of the 11,000 litre bin, it has still not arrived, he added.
James Khan, Fleet and Waste Minimisation manager at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “On behalf of the waste team I would like to apologise for Mr Barnett’s experience.
“When East Cambs Street Scene took the service over, we inherited some issues and are working hard to fix them.
“There have been some teething problems, but we are determined to ensure our residents have a waste and street cleaning service to be proud of.
“We can confirm that we have liaised with Mr Barnett and a new 11,000 litre bin and a recycling bin have been provided to the marina. Waste from these bins will form part of our regular waste collections.”
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