Cheshire East has apologised for missed bin collections which has left rubbish piling up for weeks saying staffing levels, vehicle breakdowns and the hot weather have all been factors.

The problem of the 'ongoing and systematic failings' of the service was raised at full council this week by Dane Valley councillor Andrew Kolker (Con).

"Residents across the borough are experiencing repeated missed bin collections, with rubbish being left for weeks and sometimes months without being collected, and this has been ongoing for several months," he said.

Cllr David Jefferay, cabinet member for waste management, said the service had been experiencing problems on and off since Christmas – and until recently his bins had not been collected for a month.

He said in one week in June about 30 of 214 waste staff were unavailable.

"Difficult decisions had to be made to ensure staff could work safely in the conditions, bearing in mind that our crews do very physical work, wearing full PPE, so they are feeling the heat more than most," said the Wilmslow councillor.

He added: "Additional crews worked over successive Saturdays to help clear the backlog, but ongoing staffing shortages have made recovery difficult.

"The waste service normally collects more than 50,000 bins every day, so catching up on missed rounds of increasing tonnage in the heat, whilst also maintaining normal operations against the normal business challenges, is a big ask.

"On Saturday alone, one of the vehicles had a puncture, another one had a hydraulic hose burst, so that's two vehicles out straight away."

Cllr Jefferay said the staffing situation is improving.

He said the council is looking at the data behind missed collections to identify recurring problems.

"Early analysis has already identified vehicle reliability issues and highlighted that some routes, particularly in areas which have seen significant house building, have not been adjusted to reflect growing demand, and consequently we see a higher level of repeated missed collections in certain areas," he told councillors.

"Rebalancing of the rounds is therefore necessary, and this is a big job, so it will be implemented with the other changes in autumn.

"This rebalancing, increasing staff, potentially additional vehicles, and some other changes to the way in which we operate should result in an improvement seen by residents over the coming months."

Cllr Hayley Whitaker (Poynton, Con) asked about missed green waste collections.

"Residents are now paying £69 per year for the green waste service, representing a 28 per cent increase since charging was introduced in 2024," she said.

"Many residents continue to experience repeated missed collections."

She asked if the council would introduce a rebate system.

Cllr Jefferay said: "There are circumstances where refunds [on garden waste] are offered, and those are presented in the terms and conditions on the council's website."