SPOTLIGHT: Why was this overflowing bin not emptied for three weeks? 

• Volunteer litter pickers collected sacks of rubbish mid-October and left them to be collected
• Bags were left by bin for more than three weeks – and only collected after concerns were raised by volunteers
• Council contractor idverde confirms park bins should be emptied three times a week
• Eastbourne Council lists payments totalling £70,000 a month to idverde

Volunteer litter picker Rosemary Cartmel thought she would help the community by cleaning up the streets near her home in Eastbourne’s Old Town. 

She also joined the Motcombe Wombles litter picking group and joined other volunteers in Gildredge Park on Sunday, 15 October. 

Rosemary, 76, collected a large bag of rubbish and left it by the bin near the Gingerbread café to be taken away by Eastbourne Borough Council, along with two others filled by fellow volunteers. 

More than three weeks later, she was appalled to see that all the bags were still there and dog waste bags were piled on top of the bin. 

“Does nobody from the council walk around and notice these things?” she asked. “The longer it is left, the more likely it is the bags will be split open. 

“I am bewildered. I know the council doesn’t have much money but some of the litter, such as broken glass near the skate park, is a danger to people and dogs. But it seems nobody’s going to clear that up.” 

The bin near the café was eventually emptied earlier this week (November 6) after a direct intervention from Coun Amanda Morris (Lib Dem, Old Town), who read about the issue on a Facebook group. 

G Burley & Sons is listed as being paid nearly £70,000 a month by Eastbourne Borough Council under the 2023 / 24 second quarter purchase orders for more than £5,000. The four contracts are described as a ‘GM Contract Core Sum’ on the spreadsheet. 

Burley was part of the TCL group, which was bought by grounds maintenance and landscaping company idverde in 2019. 

A spokeswoman for idverde told the Eastbourne Reporter: “We do have a contract with Eastbourne Council and within that we are contracted to empty the bins three times a week (not at weekends). 

“This excludes dog waste which is carried out by another party (I am not sure who, but the council themselves have retained some items in-house). 

“As part of this, we also pick up any waste around the bins and do a litter scavenge when we cut the grass.” 

However, the bins are labelled ‘Litter and dog waste’ in a single section so it is unclear how they are emptied.

Meanwhile, another litter bin (above) in Manor Gardens, immediately next to Gildredge Park, has also been overflowing for at least three weeks and has dog waste bags piled on top. This had still not been emptied on Tuesday (November 7). 

The idverde website states this about its public sector work: “idverde knows the impact of keeping well-maintained community areas that are utilised by the public.” 

Volunteer gardeners from the Friends of Manor Gardens and Gildredge Park weed and maintain the herbaceous border every week.  

Helen Smith, 79, has repeatedly alerted the council to overflowing bins, and grass-cutting and maintenance that has not been carried out but says she does not receive a reply from the council. 

“I understand these are difficult times but they never get back to us. They could at least come round and have a look occasionally, talk to us.”  

Fellow gardener Marion Krouwel, 75, said most of the volunteers were well over 70. “I feel they [the council] are taking advantage,” she said. 

The Eastbourne Reporter has asked the council what the idverde contract comprises, who monitors if the work is done, and who from the council should liaise with the volunteer gardeners in Manor Gardens. 

It is still not clear why the bins in both park areas were not emptied for a long period.

Comments are welcome. They are pre-moderated and may be edited for clarity and to avoid potential libel

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