New bins installed in Harrogate found to be ‘reeking’ and overflowing with dog poo bags

North Yorkshire Council inherited a programme from Harrogate Borough Council to replace around 1,500 litter bins with 775 bigger ones.

The bins are emptied every couple of weeks, which is less than before and has resulted in a raft of complaints from residents about the smell.

Two senior waste council officers attended a meeting of local councillors in Harrogate last week where they were quizzed about the rollout.

Councillor Monika Slater, who represents Bilton Grange and New Park for the Lib Dems, said the focus on collections has “completely changed” as bins are now placed close to a road where they can be collected quickly rather than where they are most needed.

She also said people had been dropping dog poo bags in places where the bins were previously, in spaces she described as “ghost bins”.

Paul Haslam, the Conservative councillor for Bilton and Nidd Gorge, said the hottest topic in his email inbox was wheelie bins as he represents the “dog walking capital” of Harrogate.

Councillor Haslam said: “If you’re going to change them once a fortnight they will smell.

“I’d like some form of monitoring as lots of people are very concerned about this.

"They might need to be changed more than once a fortnight particularly if there’s a lot of dog excrement.”

Councillor Slater added: “There was a bin in Bilton this summer that absolutely reeked, it was overflowing and people were leaving bags on top.”

In response, Harry Briggs, head of waste and streetscene services, said the council would pause the rollout and review the placement of the bins.

But he said they must be placed “as close to a road as humanely possible” so time-pressed workers can get around the district.

Mr Briggs said: “It’s right we pause and reflect to see if the locations could be improved upon or the number of bins that have been rationalised is too great.

“The new management team at North Yorkshire Council is looking at this project again.

"We want to take feedback from yourselves to try and look at how best we can deliver aims of project.”