A Kirklees bin crew has been accused of double standards.
They have been filmed “doing a favour” for one householder by binning a range of waste not allowed by the council’s wheeled bins.
Footage of a bin crew “going out of their way” to dispose of items other than the contents of the bin was captured by Nadeem Ilyas, of Carr Street, Marsh.
Mr Ilyas says his CCTV cameras have twice caught binmen appearing at his neighbour’s house on non-collection days.
And he says the footage shows a crew arriving outside of their working hours at 6.17am on a Saturday – which Kirklees Council disputes.
His film does show refuse staff making a collection that included extra bin bags, a lawnmower, a child’s scooter and garden waste – all of which are tossed in the back of the wagon together.
Nadeem Ilyas' CCTV footage of binmen
Tough council rules have barred the collection of extra bags and garden waste.
Unwanted gardening equipment and toys are supposed to be taken to a waste recycling centre.
Residents without the ability to visit the tip can order a bulky waste collection, for which Kirklees now charges a fee.
Mr Ilyas, 37, who works for Leeds City Council, said: “They’ve gone out of their way getting things collected from round the back.
“I’ve seen them having a laugh and a joke; but it’s beyond a joke to me, so I’ve put in a complaint.
“I pay council tax and if I attempted to throw extra bags away or garden waste it wouldn’t be allowed.
“But for this address they’re obviously doing them a favour.
“It’s unfair on me and all the other people paying taxes in Kirklees.”
Kirklees Council told the Examiner the two incidents were simply missed bin collections.
A spokesman said Mr Ilyas had visited their depot and had the situation explained and seen data from wagon’s tracking system that showed a different time.
The spokesman said: “Our belief is that the times on the CCTV are not accurate – the vehicle trackers show that the van left the depot at 7am and did the pick up at 7.25am.
“The visits were for missed bins which are logged on the system, and the men agreed to take the extra waste while they were there.
“This should not have happened, but the team leader has discussed that with the crew, explained that the missed bin was ok, but it is important not to collect unordered waste and items as it is now a paid for service.
“The driver acknowledged the crew’s mistake but had felt they should help the resident out.”
Mr Ilyas said he didn’t accept that his CCTV time was wrong.
“I’m happy for them to come and inspect it,” he added. “At the end of the day it’s all there to be seen on the footage.”
