Rubbish mounts as collections on hold

Rubbish is starting to pile up across the Greater Bristol area as icy conditions have put the freeze on collections.

Residents in North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset shouldn't expect their waste to be collected today, after their respective councils cancelled collections.

A similar situation is expected today in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

Both authorities cancelled yesterday's collections and said they would only resume when better weather allows. The councils said the icy conditions were too dangerous for rubbish trucks to safely run on and could lead to collisions.

Heavy snow has also meant some roads are inaccessible. All four authorities hope to have the binmen out early next week, but that will depend on the weekend weather.

Different areas were given different advice on whether to leave out their rubbish until it is collected.

Residents in Bristol and South Gloucestershire who are due or who have missed a collection are advised to leave their refuse and recycling out as normal.

But residents in North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset have been told to take rubbish bins back in until collections resume.

Alternatively, a number of rubbish tips are still open as normal. In Bristol, Avonmouth Refuse Transfer Station, Avonmouth Household Waste Recycling Centre, Great Western Refuse Transfer Station and St Philips Household Waste Recycling Centre were all open as of yesterday.

But the three main civic amenity sites have been shut this week because of the weather.

The tips in Backwell and Portishead were closed for the past two days, although the council hopes to have the Aiescombe Way, Weston- super-Mare, site open by today.

All three tips in B&NES were closed as of yesterday.

The last time North Somerset contractors went out on their rubbish rounds was Tuesday, leading to concern from community groups. Leaders of Pride in Portishead, launched two years ago to ensure the town stays litter free and looking its best, said they wanted collections to resume as soon as possible. Spokesman Vic Long, who runs the Ship Inn in the town, said: "The Pride in Portishead group work hard to make sure that Portishead looks its best and is clear of litter."

The councils have asked for patience and stressed normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. North Somerset spokesman Richard Turner said: "There is a backlog of collections and we are doing our best to catch up and clear them.

Bristol City spokesman James Easey said: "We will do all we can to resume normal services as soon as weather conditions allow."

South Gloucestershire spokesman Ryan Skeets said: "SITA will do all that they can to resume normal collections as soon as possible."

A BANES spokesman said: "Households that didn't have their waste collected on Wednesday or Thursday should not leave their waste out for collection."