Fly-tipping preventing bins at Newtownabbey homes from being emptied, claim

The resident contacted the Newtownabbey Times to highlight the issue. The person, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The bins have not been collected for a few weeks and the rubbish is piling up. We can no longer access the bins because there is that much waste. I’ve had to take my rubbish to the recycling centre, but there are other residents who don’t have access to a car to be able to do this and they’re keeping their rubbish in their home until it can be brought to the bins.

"There is a really bad smell at the bins and there are seagulls always there. Neighbours have also said that they have spotted rats in the area. I understand there used to be a gate on the bin area, but this broke before we moved into the property and it has not been replaced.

"There are 32 apartments with access to the bins. I’m not sure if the rubbish is being dumped by someone here or people from outside the area. The bins overflowed before, but it was sorted a lot quicker the last time.”

The issue has been reported to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. In a statement today (Thursday), a spokesperson for the local authority said: “The council is aware of ongoing collection problems at Glenmount Manor, where bins cannot be accessed due to fly-tipping.

“The council has previously cleaned the area to enable access and provided additional bins to residents, however, more fly-tipping has occurred in the area preventing access for the collection crews. The council has reported the issue directly to the property management company responsible for maintaining the area.”

The site is being managed by Pillar Block Management. A spokesperson for the Lisburn Road-based business said: “It’s been an ongoing issue we are in the process of resolving. The bin area has been open to misuse unfortunately with high rates of fly-tipping and inappropriate dumping of items like mattresses, however, the main issue is due to the bin collection.

“A number of residents incorrectly believe that we manage the bin collection. We do not, Antrim and Newtownabbey Council manage the bin collection and they hire it out to a third party contractor."

The spokesperson alleged: “We’ve had numerous reports from residents, that the third party contractors hired by the council only pick up three or four bins each visit over the past months, not all 10 that the council have confirmed are allocated for collection. This means that less than 50 per cent of the bins are collected and the rubbish piles up quickly, meaning we’ve to organise our own third party collections at residents’ expense. I can confirm this has been booked in for a deep clear due today, or the start of next week.”

The spokesperson added: “In regards to a new gate for the bin area, we’re seeking quotes for this, however, I must re-iterate a number of residents have stated they don’t want a gate as they say in the past they’ve broken and they find them a hassle. They also say that gates don't stop fly-tipping, people will just throw things over the fence, so we’re getting a quote to roof the area too.

"We have to go by the instructions of the majority of the residents, which means people have their own opinion of how to resolve the matter and things are not always decided upon quickly. There’s pest control contract in place all year round and in the bin area to monitor and deal with any pest control issues.

“We’re in frequent contact with residents about this issue, and have much hope it will continue to improve in the future, as we’ve had commitments from the council waste department and environmental health that they’ll hold their contractors to account and ensure they collect all the bins as per the contract. This in itself will hopefully go a long way to sort the issue.”