Local MP Ramps Up Pressure as Council Continues to Fail on Bin Collections

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has written to Richard Flinton, Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, over the ongoing and unacceptable disruption to household waste collections across his constituency.

In recent weeks, more than twenty-five residents have contacted Tom directly about missed collections, with many more clearly affected. One particularly troubling case involves a 96-year-old man with mobility issues whose bin has not been emptied for over six weeks.

Tom has now escalated the issue to North Yorkshire Council’s Chief Executive, after repeatedly raising it with the Waste and Climate service team since May with no improvement. Meanwhile, many constituents say their own complaints have been ignored, leaving them without answers and increasingly frustrated.

The problems began earlier this year, following the Council’s restructure of bin collection services. Since then, reliability has worsened dramatically, with vulnerable residents who rely on assisted collections hit hardest.

In his letter to Richard Flinton, Tom called for urgent clarity on how the Council is tackling the backlog of missed collections and demanded reassurance that assisted collections will be prioritised. He also pressed for a clear explanation of how the Council is keeping residents informed about service disruptions, what action is being taken to fix the operational failings, and how they will ensure these problems do not continue.

Tom said he will continue to hold the Council to account until residents see a reliable service restored.

Commenting, Tom said:

‘It is completely unacceptable that residents are being left with overflowing, unhygienic waste on their streets because of the Council’s failures – especially while the same Council talks about hiking council tax to the maximum.

‘I’ve heard from dozens of constituents, including elderly and vulnerable people, who have been left without a service they depend on. That is not just an inconvenience – it’s a public health risk.

‘This issue has dragged on for far too long. The Council must take urgent action to resolve it and guarantee such widespread failures do not happen again – and I will continue to hold them to account until they do.’