Council apologises for bin collection ‘disruption’

FERMANAGH and Omagh District Council has apologised for ‘ongoing disruption’ which has meant some householders in the area have not had their brown bins collected for weeks at a time.

Last September, frustrated residents in Dromore revealed that they had to wait more than five weeks before their brown bins were emptied.

In a statement released today, the council said that they are committed to implementing a ‘high-quality’ household bin collection service for residents across the district.

An FODC spokesperson said, “While the council has collected 98 per-cent of household bins on the scheduled day over the past 12 months, we acknowledge that regrettably, some households have experienced ongoing disruption to household bin collection services, mainly in relation to the collection of brown food waste caddies.

“This falls short of the level of service that the council wishes to provide to householders and which residents rightfully expect.

“We sincerely apologise for this.”

They added, “When we do not have the required staff resource available to us, priority is given to the collection of black and green residual bins. Unfortunately, this results in an interruption to the collection of brown food waste caddies on some routes on occasion.

“We recognise the inconvenience and frustration felt by those impacted and make every effort to re-deploy staff, where possible, to service caddies that have not been collected on two consecutive occasions.

“The council is investing in its fleet and associated routing technology to ensure it has the most suitable, reliable and technologically capable vehicles available to support a safe and effective household bin collection service.“