Braving the elements to collect your rubbish - Tuesday 7 February 2012

It’s just after 11.00 am and even now the temperature still hasn’t reached above freezing. With snow and ice already on many of the side roads in Thanet, that’s a major problem, as there’s no way in the road conditions will improve anymore in these cold temperatures.

Despite that, the council’s waste and recycling crews are out and about, trying to collect as many black sacks and from as many wheeled bins and seagull proof bags as they can. It’s not an easy job, because even though the main roads have been gritted, many of the estates haven’t been and won’t be. Take a look at the salting route map that Kent County Council provide and you can see the problem immediately.

We’re on our way out to Birchington and the second we turn off the main Canterbury Road and into Charlesworth Drive, the road conditions immediately change. As we pass side roads, it’s clear that they’re still caked in snow and ice. Yet, there are large tyre tracks down the roads and the bins have been emptied. The crew have already been here.

Despite the crew’s sterling work, it’s going to take time to catch up with the missed collections from earlier in the week. What’s not helping them is the fact that many wheeled bins we see as we drive further round along the route are nowhere near the pavement. Some are literally right outside people’s houses. Although it may only be a little bit further away to some people, multiply that by several hundred homes and suddenly that’s a lot of extra time to put on the round.

Although some roads can now be reached, many can’t. This crew on their own would usually empty 1300 bins a day. Today, with the weather slowing them up and making their route treacherous, they’ll be lucky to manage 600. Elsewhere, it’s a more positive picture, with some crews getting round to as many as 80% of properties.

That may sound encouraging, but let’s not forget that any collections that aren’t completed will then add to the existing backlog from the severe weather so far, meaning it will take time to get back on track.