Cornwall council is making special arrangements to allow residents to arrange for doorstep collections of water-damaged bulky waste items in the wake of last week's flooding.
Rather than expect people to transport bulky items from their homes to the skips we want to concentrate on a more flexible assisted collections system
David Owens, head of waste management, Cornwall council
The South West local authority had positioned four static skips through the region but has now teamed with its waste contractor Serco to offer a kerbside collection in order to cater for those experiencing issues with reaching the skip sites.
According to the Environment Agency, around 200 properties in Cornwall were affected by intense rain leading to winter flooding last week (November 17). In total, nine towns and villages were adversely impacted by the weather, with the low-lying Lostwithiel being the worst hit.
Prime Minister David Cameron, HRH the Duke of Cornwall and Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the environment, food and rural affairs, visited Cornwall in the days following the flood to meet residents and see the flood damage firsthand.
The council reported that skips for damaged items placed in Mevagissey, Lostwithiel, St Blazey and Pentewan had been “well used” by residents in the days following the flood. Residents deposited contaminated items such as washing machines and cookers, as well as large items of furniture.
Earlier this week (November 23), the council withdrew the skips from the four sites and has instead introduced an assisted collection service. Cornwall said that the immediate response to the change service had been “very successful”.
Commenting on the arrangement, David Owens, head of waste management at Cornwall, said: “Rather than expect people to transport bulky items from their homes to the skips we want to concentrate on a more flexible assisted collections system which will enable them to phone us to request the items to be collected from outside their front doors.”
Collections
Residents can contact the council through its waste collection contractor Serco, its customer services team or the dedicated flood number.
Mr Owens added: “We appreciate that some people may have to wait until next week to get approval from their insurance companies to remove items and we will keep the system in place for as long as it is required.”
The flooding that hit Cornwall last week came almost exactly one-year after torrential rain hit Cumbria and Southern Scotland, which also led to a widespread disruption of waste and recycling collections in the respective regions (see letsrecycle.com story).
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