Dervaig recycling collections 'rubbished'

Confusion over collection dates has reached such a ’chronic’ level that the villager, who asked not to be named, asked for council tax back because of ’no service’ she told The Oban Times.

The latest missed collection, tallied up to the 14th time in the past 12 months. Numerous email complaints have been sent to Argyll and Bute Council.

"The communication by the council is dreadful. We get told nothing about when they are going to pick up when they miss the routine collection.

"For the months of January and February they opened the tip up further so we were encouraged to take our recycling our selves to the tip," said the resident.

According to reports, a broken down rubbish lorry has been parked outside a repairs garage in Tobermory for weeks.

"I asked for a refund on my council tax due to no service and that got declined. They said they had invested £700,000 in new lorries and that we got one of them. The council got upset with me when I said they had left us with a dud lorry.  My complaints have been written off  every time.

"I think they must think we are stupid. For weeks, from four to six weeks, the dud lorry has been parked out side a Tobermory garage, broken down for all to see," she said.

And added: "The communication strategy for this council is poor. We don’t know whether to leave our bins out or bring them in due to high winds and the rubbish being blown  everywhere. You bring them in, and they come along and you miss the pick up."

The resident has also emailed council leader Jim Lynch direct and got a response back from the council on his behalf saying: "I’ve asked colleagues in the service for an update on this as soon as possible."

Another Dervaig resident always posts a weekly reminder about what bin goes out on the run she is on in a bid to try and save people from keeping asking.

Last week she told us: "The local guys are fab, but again our recycling wasn’t emptied. No reason given just an email saying they were unable to collect. Both lorries were on the road on Monday so lorry breakdown, for once, wasn’t the issue. Just told to put bin in and await an update, meanwhile household recycling piles up or worse folk put it in the routine rubbish bin," she told us.

And added: "They do seem to keep on top of routine rubbish, which is only every three weeks, and the glass was uplifted this morning. I think the most frustrating thing is the level of communication. Yes we got an email, but no explanation given and no new date...in my experience this means we will just have to wait until the next scheduled uplift in a fortnight, but not always."

An Argyll and Bute spokesperson said: “Delivering services on islands will always be challenging, eg our bin lorries will negotiate some of the more challenging routes in Argyll and Bute. We do what we can to mitigate this, but there will be some things over which we have no control.

“Mull’s waste and recycling service has two lorries, the older being just two years old. If one breaks down, we prioritise general waste, as it generates unpleasant odours, over recycling.

“As with all vehicles, the new RCV is subject to downtime due to faults. As it is under warranty, we have to wait for manufacturer’s technicians to attend. The timing for this depends of availability of mechanics and ferry sailings. In September, we augmented the service on Mull with an additional lorry.

“When runs are disrupted, by illness, breakdowns or weather, our hard-working staff get things back on schedule as quickly as possible, often catching up over the weekend. We provide service updates on our www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling&source=gmail&ust=1734185047253000&usg=AOvVaw0COGZ1bTSBY1kkDBLOVasO">website and people can also keep up-to-date with service changes through www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/keep-loop&source=gmail&ust=1734185047253000&usg=AOvVaw0mZksACZMbtteP0vr3jQsA">Keep in the Loop messaging.”