Statement by TUV Court councillor Jolene Bunting:
“Being aware of the concerns raised by ratepayers in my area I have been in contact with council officers regarding the changeover in bin collections.
“Council officers have said that around 30% of households in Belfast did not receive the letter informing them of changes to their bin collection. I am alarmed that Council has recovered some of the letters from a skip. This discovery raises serious questions not just around the non-delivery of the letters but data protection issues for citizens.
“This is totally unacceptable. The most basic service which ratepayers receive from their council is bin collection. The Council have now launched an investigation into why some letters were not delivered. I assure ratepayers that I will be probing this issue to get to the bottom of why this situation arose.
“I am advised that council officers are working to rectify these problems and letters informing citizens will be delivered as soon as possible. I have also been assured that there will be extra crews on the ground over the next few weeks to ensure no ratepayers are left with over flowing bins. While this is welcome the situation should not have arisen in the first instance.
“I have been advised that the Council website information is now up to date so if anyone is unaware of their next collection day please consult this link.
“If your bins are not due to be collected in a reasonable time frame from your last collection please contact me and I will arrange to get your bins emptied.”