New Quay bin collection is “rubbish”, say residents fed up of weekly disruptions to household and public bin services.

Some say household bins are often left stranded on the curb, whilst others have taken videos of seagulls wreaking havoc with overflowing public bins.

Anthony Green from New Quay described bags of waste “left for days, blowing down streets, opened by seagulls, dogs, rats and other vermin - looking terrible and an obvious health hazard”.

Claire Barnes’ visitors “thought it was a huge case of fly-tipping until they saw more and realised it was uncollected refuse”.

However, it’s not just New Quay. An Aberaeron resident reported one collection on his road in eight weeks, whilst others in Cross Inn, Maenygroes, and Caerwedros have reported “piles of rubbish left for days”.

Anthony Green, who wrote in “frustration and anger” at the “ridiculously poor service” from Ceredigion County Council to the ‘Cambrian News’ after filing a formal complaint with the council, said: “They are failing in their legal obligation to provide this most basic of service. 

“Residents are appalled and extremely angry and demand that the council CEO take personal responsibility to get a grip on this and make immediate improvements.”

He said New Quay relies on tourism whilst paying ever-increasing council tax following an 11.1 per cent rise this April.

Aberaeron County Councillor Elizabeth Evans shares weekly posts on Facebook showing the locations and waste collection services affected with reasonings stating ‘staffing and fleet issues’.

The tables show rescheduled collections, instructing some residents to ‘go to your nearest recycling point’ with their waste instead.

She recently posted: “I will shortly post an update about how improvements to the service will be made.

“However, like everything, the proof will be in the pudding - not something half-baked, but a proper pudd, with a crispy crust on top.

“As for today, I understand your frustration.”

The council has blamed “unprecedented levels of staff absence for some time” for this issue, working on long-term remedies including hiring new refuse drivers and loaders, a Service Improvement and Performance Officer, more Fleet Technicians, investigating technology to better manage collections and sourcing replacement vehicles to improve resilience.

In the meantime, they are employing the private sector to help manage short-term.

A council letter to Mr Green apologising said: “Although it is inevitable that the measures may take some time to implement fully, efforts remain ongoing to prioritise how we manage the current situation.”