The recording studio owner pays for commercial waste collection but says he has been forced to clear up waste from uncollected residential bins
A Hull businessman who claims his street has been turned into a “festive urban composting experiment” after bins were left uncollected for two weeks said he was considering taking the offending waste directly to the council if it was not cleared up.
Dan Styles, 52, says rubbish from a number of neighbouring residents’ bins – either missing lids or not fully closed – has been strewn outside 24 Karat Recordings, the recording studio he runs on Anlaby Road. He says the resulting mess makes the street outside his firm look “disgusting”.
He claims Hull’s waste collection services have twice missed the bins out on their rounds, forcing him to mount a clean-up operation himself. Now, after saying he has contacted Hull City Council on three occasions to report the rubbish, Dan says he plans to take the issue directly to the council by dumping the waste at a council building unless it is taken away. In response, the authority said it was arranging a number of steps to resolve the situation including “the immediate emptying of the on-site bins”.
Dan, whose partner Katrina Doy runs The Diamond Lounge hair salon at the front of the building, said he first reported the issue on December 29, following that up with repeat calls on December 31 and January 2.
He said: “We pay for commercial waste collection. The building sits on the corner of Anlaby Road and Albert Avenue, with rear access and a car park via the Albert Avenue alley.
“Over the Christmas period, residents’ blue bins on Albert Avenue were left uncollected because lids were not fully closed or were missing. Those bins sat there for two weeks, during which rubbish spread across the street and into my car park.
“The approved response, it seems, is to leave the bin in place for weeks so its contents can naturally disperse across the street, into my car park, and onto public pathways, turning the area into some kind of festive urban composting experiment.
“On 2 January bin crews attended and once again left bins behind. My partner watched the collectors go past on the other side of the street, and when she asked what was happening she was told another wagon was coming down on that side, but it didn’t come.
“I have personally had to clean rubbish out of my car park so customers can access my business, clear the corner outside my premises four separate times in the last week, spend time during business hours on the phone to multiple council departments, with no resolution.
“This is not my responsibility. I do not control residents’ bins. I do not employ the bin crews. Yet I am the one dealing with the consequences while trying to run a business. The street outside my premises currently looks disgusting.”
Infuriated by the rubbish-strewn street scene, he said: “How would you feel if someone repeatedly dumped rubbish outside the Town Hall and then told you it wasn’t their problem to clean it up? Because that is effectively what is happening here, except I’m expected to quietly accept it and deal with it myself.
“If the remaining bins are not removed and the area properly cleaned I consider it reasonable to demonstrate how unacceptable this situation is by relocating the accumulated waste to a council-controlled location, such as outside the Town Hall, to illustrate the impact this ongoing failure has on local businesses.
“What I am asking for is simple: immediate removal of the remaining uncollected bins, proper clean-up of loose waste on Albert Avenue and the Anlaby Road corner and written confirmation of how this will be prevented from happening again.”
“I had planned to take and dump it at the town hall, but I’ve since been contacted by a councillor saying they’re looking into it, and the council has also been round and apologised for the inconvenience. “
A spokesperson for Hull City Council said: “We appreciate that missed bin collections are an inconvenience to residents and businesses. However, there are rare occasions and circumstances that mean, sometimes, a small number of bins are missed.
“In this instance, we have arranged a site visit to carry out a communal review, ensuring waste capacity is tailored to each building’s needs. We have also scheduled the immediate emptying of the on-site bins, a clean-up of any waste in the area, and the delivery of an interim 1100-litre four-wheeled bin to 398 Anlaby Road on Wednesday.
“If a resident experiences a missed collection or has concerns about waste management, they are advised to contact the council to report it via www.hull.gov.uk or on 01482 300 300.”
Is Hull the best place to live in Yorkshire? You can have your say by completing the poll below or by clicking here .