Lansdowne Estate: There have been no recycling bins on a Sheffield estate since Christmas six months ago

There have been no recycling bins on a Sheffield estate since Christmas.

Residents on the Lansdowne Estate were told in December 2023 their glass, plastic and metal waste bins were being taken for “deep cleaning” and would be back in short order.

But instead, it has now been six months with no sign of them, with only blue bins for paper and card still on site.

Sheffield City Council has been contacted for comment. A spokesperson said on June 7 that the bins “are due to arrive on Monday (June 10).

Councillor Maroof Raouf, ward councillor for Nether Edge and Sharrow, told The Star it was suggested to him bins operator Veolia was planning to create one central area on the estate for all recycling, but confusion and delays getting it off the ground had led to no recycling bins at all on the estate. He condemned the council with some strong words.

“It was my understanding Lansdowne was supposed to get a central recycling area where everybody could go, rather than bins in every corner of the estate,” said Maroof.

“But, frankly, the residents of Lansdowne have been treated like s***, and you can quote me on that, because they have been.

“Their complaints are ignored and they are told the estate’s problems are their fault, and other estates in Sheffield just get their issues solved much quicker.”

It comes as months of conflict between residents and the council has led to persistent flytipping. In a bid to curb a rat infestation, the council locked the estate’s wheelie bins away in December and ordered tenants to use each flat block’s bin chutes.

However, because the chutes are too small for modern bin bags, they often become blocked - and because the wheelie bins are in locked sheds, residents have nowhere to put their waste, leading to rampant flytipping in communal areas.

The council ordered residents in April to use smaller bin bags, with promises that officers would be examine dumped waste. Any bags that could be traced back to an address would result in a £400 find for the owner.

One resident told The Star: “I’m a homeowner and there used to be more bins out here, for recycling and other bins too. They’ve been taken away and bin bags just get left about, and the chutes are too small. So rats and mice get tear open the bags. It’s been like this for months.”