A large number of residents of our town have raised concerns over the lack of bin collections taking place at the moment.

Many have said that their bin collections have been missed for a number of weeks which has left many roads and streets in disarray. 

Sharon, a long time resident of Whitley, said that the situation in her neighbourhood is at breaking point. 

"On Friday's they empty the main ones and then residents throw the excess straight into the bins," she said.

"There are houses with black bags still left in the gardens also. It is really a problem."

Sharon said that even with three people in her household she has found it hard to deal with the issues surrounding waste collections. 

Her, and many others, have also raised concerns over the neighbourhood's food bins, which previously hadn't been emptied for two weeks.

"There were maggots in mine," Sharon said. "It was horrible. They were supposed to be emptying them weekly but now and then they just don't take them.

"By the time they actually do take them they're chockablock! There's slugs and maggots, it's disgusting."

Sharon said that she feels that the missed collections makes the area look rough when the neighbourhood is full of lovely residents who appreciate where they live and this brings it down. 

She said that she feels sad when strolling through Whitley. "They really need to keep on top of the bins now that summer is round the corner with all the flies and stuff," she said. 

"The council really need to sort this out. I use a compost bin as well which makes it a lot easier for me personally to keep on top of it, but other people don't have the same thing."

The council have previously responded to complaints with the following statement: 

"The street-cleansing team work 7 days a week emptying the street litter bins, collecting litter and removing fly-tipped waste from Council land. We also have a team of officers that investigate waste deposit offences and can take enforcement action for unauthorised waste disposal, littering or failure to comply with waste duty of care requirements.

"It is important to note the Council can review and approve additional waste capacity for households who have five or more adults, two or more children in nappies, and medical/hygiene waste requirements such as incontinence.  An application for additional waste capacity can be made here: https://www.reading.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/order-a-bin-or-bag/."