'Should we wrap bins in electric blankets?' ask residents as council refuses to empty frozen bins

Dylan Hayward
·2-min read
The council had previously told residents that bins would go uncollected
-Credit:Getty


Residents have given a cold shoulder to a Leicestershire council's announcement that bins won't be emptied if they're frozen shut. As temperatures took a dive last weekend, thousands of residents were warned by Harborough District Council (HDC) that they might end up with full bins on their curbside.

The council had said on Friday, January 3 that collection crews would be unable to return for bins where contents have frozen solid. The warning followed an earlier deleted social media post in which the council had told residents to leave their bins out for later collection if crews could not complete rounds.

The post said: "The contents of some household wheeled bins may freeze due to the freezing temperatures expected this weekend. Unfortunately, if the contents of your wheeled bin are frozen solid, our crews will be unable to empty your bin and will not be able to return."

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The announcement sparked anger among residents on social media, with many questioning why they should pay council tax if bins go unemptied. "They most certainly should return and do them at a later date that's what people pay council tax for." one resident said.

Others highlighted issues with collection times, with one resident stating: "What do they expect, they tell you to put your bin out by 7am but don't empty it till 4.30pm. Are we supposed to wrap our bins in electric blankets?"

Some residents compared current collection practices to previous standards, with one claiming that they "only take half the rubbish anyway" They added: "Rubbish is strewn along the road, far cry from binmen of years gone by who lifted bins complete with rubbish and emptied the whole contents into the lorry with no mess."

Councillor Phil Knowles, Leader of Harborough District Council said: “For clarification, the council has not issued any recent press releases or formal announcements in respect of frozen bin collections – there is a policy in place which has been adopted for numerous years which we inherited, and this has been quoted in response to some queries from residents in view of the recent cold weather."

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He added: "I have asked officers to take the opportunity to review this policy so we can be sure how it fits to 2025."

An earlier version of this story stated the council’s advice on frozen bins had changed. The advice on frozen bins followed an earlier post advising residents to leave uncollected bins out. The council has asked us to clarify that the original advice was issued before the snow had fallen and was deleted as it was considered premature. We are happy to clarify the situation.

We are now bringing you the latest updates on WhatsApp first

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