Residents of a Wendouree street say they were forgotten by City of Ballarat’s waste collection services.
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Ray and Janine Blake said bins on a section of Willow Grove had not been emptied as scheduled since before Christmas last year.
The pair contacted City of Ballarat multiple times, but did not receive a response from a waste management supervisor about being bypassed.
Mr Blake said he believed the garbage trucks had skipped their end of Willow Grove, running from the intersection of Marigold St, because garbage trucks have to do a three-point turn at the end of the no through road.
“One week they’d do it, and the next week they’d get to the intersection and turn to the right instead of turning left down our street, I’ve watched them,” Mr Blake said.
“This is a step away from doing their job properly.”
“In an organisation like City of Ballarat, you’d think one of the council representatives would come out and see someone, but that haven’t, and to me that’s not right.”
With fellow residents also making complaints about the suspended service, the Blakes were pleased to finally hear the rumbling of a garbage truck on their street on Monday.
But in a cruel twist of fate, their bin was broken by the garbage collectors and left in pieces on the nature strip.
This is the second bin belonging to the Blakes which was broken, after a similar situation of a garbage truck destroying their bin two months ago.
Ms Blake said she heard the garbage truck driving down Willow Grove on Monday, and waited to hear her bin finally emptied.
“I came out to get my bin, and instead of being out the front it was further down the nature strip with its wheel off,” she said.
“I got on the phone and called City of Ballarat, and the bloke I was talking to said, ‘How long has it been since the bin was broken?’ and I said it was probably ten or fifteen minutes ago, because the truck was still doing Willow Grove.”
City of Ballarat director of infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo said the service had run in Willow Grove over the period.
In difficult to access locations, Mr Demeo said the waste collection team would work with residents and drivers on issues of restricted access or narrow streets to get a long term solution. He said a council officer has been in contact with Mr Blake this afternoon regarding the damaged bin.
Residents who have a broken or damaged bin can contact customer service on 03 5320 5500, with City of Ballarat repairing and replacing damaged bins for free.