Lynton resident frustrated with local refuse policies

A Lynton resident has voiced his frustration with North Devon Council's (NDC) waste policies after missing a bin collection due to a hospital appointment, leaving him with a growing number of uncollected rubbish bags and limited options for disposal.

Ian Wood, who lives on a farm in Lynton, explained to the North Devon Gazette that missing his scheduled refuse collection left him with six bags of waste. 

However, he told the Gazette that adding these bags to the next collection isn’t allowed under NDC’s policy, which limits collections to a maximum of four to five bags per household.

According to Mr Wood, a letter from NDC stated that they “cannot foresee a circumstance where any household would need to put out more than five bags” and that adding uncollected bags to future collections is not an option, as “we instruct our operatives not to collect excessive bags.”

In an attempt to manage the overflow, Mr Wood contacted Devon County Council (DCC) to arrange a trip to a recycling centre, requiring a 45-minute drive each way to Barnstaple, along with prebooking details including his car registration, bag count, and reason for the visit. 

When a second hospital appointment led to another missed collection, he learned that DCC enforces a yearly limit of eight bags per household, which he was nearing.

He told the Gazette: “I am sure that the officials who serve us want a clean and tidy Devon and abhor fly-tipping, so why have they created policies that work against ordinary people and encourage it?” 

In response to the Gazette’s inquiry, a DCC spokesperson said: “We do recognise that there may be some circumstances when residents miss their bin collection or have occasional excess waste for example due to a freezer breakdown and that’s why we have a system which allows up to eight black bags per household in a 12-month period to be deposited at nominated recycling centres – this needs to be prebooked.

“If the kerbside collection services on offer are fully utilised, we believe that this should be sufficient.”

North Devon Council clarified its stance, explaining that each household is permitted one 240 litre black wheelie bin or the equivalent of four to five black bags for those without space to store a bin. 

“We do offer additional black wheelie bins for residents who meet specific criteria, with a one-off charge of £25,” the council stated, adding that additional waste, or "side waste," placed next to the usual collection bin is not generally allowed. 

However, for residents with unavoidable excess, NDC encourages them to contact Customer Services to register details in advance.

An NDC spokesperson said: “However, if a resident has excess waste, we encourage them to contact our Customer Services team to register their details. Our Refuse Supervisor will then assess the situation, determine how much excess waste we can collect, and contact the resident to confirm. Advance notice allows us to inform our collection crews and ensure the agreed amount is removed without disrupting service for other residents.”

The council also reminded residents that all waste and recycling should be placed out by 6am on collection day to avoid missed pickups.