Stephen Hussey, 63, from Mersham near Ashford, Kent, found the lid had been ripped off his 240-litre green recycling bin when he brought it in from his drive. He complained to Ashford Borough Council (ABC), but was initially told he would have to pay £34 for a replacement as he could not prove refuse workers were responsible for the damage.
Mr Hussey said: “We put the bins out as normal, but when I came to bring them in, the hinge was ripped off and the lid completely gone. Kids hadn’t done that, so it was obviously broken while they were sorting it.”
Council's initial response
The father-of-four contacted ABC but received an automated reply. He approached the authority again several days later, providing pictures of the broken bin, and received a letter from the authority’s environmental contracts and operations team.
It said: “We do not replace bins free of charge unless it is proven the bin fell in the back of the waste collection vehicle or the lid was damaged during collection. The bins are roughly the same age, so it is not unusual for them all to start breaking. At this time, ABC will not be replacing your bin free of charge.”
The council’s website states bin replacements will only be offered if evidence can be shown that workers from Suez - the waste operator across the borough - have caused damage. Mr Hussey said: “Why would I break my own bin? The fact you have to essentially provide CCTV for something which, even if everyone had that, isn’t going to show the damage anyway.
Resident's concerns
“You’re just never going to be able to prove something like that, and then on top of that you get a reply with basically attitude. We live in a rural part of the town, so predators like foxes and birds would have a field day with a bin with no lid.
“They’d end up putting the rubbish everywhere, and cars doing 60mph along here would put rubbish all over the road, and you worry about maggots by the house when it’s not out the front. I refused to pay it, but it’s just a system where people are set up to fail because you just give up.
Council apologises
“It shouldn’t have got to this stage, and we pay enough council tax as it is. It’s all online as well, so I feel really sorry for people who are elderly without access to the internet who just pay it because it’s the easiest thing to do. But I’ve shown people shouldn’t give in.”
ABC said the authority had now agreed to provide a replacement bin “due a mistake made on our behalf”. A spokesperson said: “We would like to apologise to Mr Hussey for the inconvenience caused. The charge was issued in error and as such a replacement bin has been ordered on his behalf.”
ABC chiefs say the replacement will be delivered in three working days, and the broken bin will be removed. Mr Hussey is not the only person to face issues with broken bins.
Wye resident Jean Graham says her household waste bin was damaged earlier this year. The 81-year-old, from Little Chequers, attempted to seek a replacement on the phone and online. She said: “I refused to pay as I never damaged it - they did.
“But they didn’t accept responsibility, so I feel angry and disappointed in our council. I paid £6 for duct tape and almost had to lay on the green to repair a long crack on it, so I still have it.” ABC declined to comment on Mrs Graham’s claim.
