Conwy binmen are feeling unappreciated

Feb 11 2010 North Wales Weekly News

Conwy

BINMEN are appealing to residents across Conwy county to recognise their hard work.

Conwy’s refuse collectors say they are fed up with residents criticising their work and believe many don’t realise how hard their job is.

Just last week residents on Park Road in Colwyn Bay complained that recycling boxes weren’t being put back properly after they were emptied and were blowing against vehicles in the wind.

But Conwy’s frontline employees say they have hard jobs, especially through the dark winter months in the ice, snow and cold weather.

Dominic Faux, 31, from Llanddulas drives the collection wagon to pick up recycling boxes from the kerbside and explained that many refuse collectors went beyond the call of duty.

“We seem to get slated all the time. We worked through Christmas, the holidays and the weather with the ice and snow,” he said.

“We collect returns from the elderly people, even though boxes are on drives, on a hill, iced up. It would be nice to get recognised instead of slated all the time.

“It is quite a difficult job. People throw all their stuff into one box without using the divider to separate tins and bottles. They think it is just tipped in the wagon but it has to be sorted out on the spot.

“It makes the job difficult if there’s broken glass in the boxes because if you put your hand in and get hurt, you won’t get paid.

“I’ve found syringes in a box in Llandudno. I know it was drugs as there were empty bottles of methadone with the client’s name and address on it.

“During the bad weather it wasn’t too bad for me as the driver, but there was ice on the roads and some of the lads kept falling over, but they carried on.”

He added: “Our crew sorts out 35-40 tonnes a week by hand and in the recent bad weather I gritted a road by myself in order to collect residents’ recycling.”

Fellow refuse collector Joe Pyttlik, 59, from Llanrwst added: “I walk about six miles a day sorting out the recycling which is difficult when rubbish and brown cardboard has been mixed in with the boxes. Being a bin man isn’t as easy as people think it is.”