A resident has complained that bin lorries frequently leave behind a stinky stain on the street, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

A Friern Barnet resident has complained about “sludge” leaking from a bin lorry outside his home.

Lee Byron, a resident of Halton Close, where the issue happens, said he complained in September 2024 to Barnet Council about “sludge” leaking from a black bin lorry.

Lee, who is 75, said it was mostly elderly people who lived on this stretch of the close, part of which is private, and himself or a neighbour were usually left to clean the “mess”.

In response to enquiries a Barnet Council spokesperson said the council was sorry for the inconvenience caused and collections would be monitored over the next six weeks.

Back in September, as a solution the bin collector for the area agreed to pick up bins further away from the homes affected.

However, last month Lee said, despite the bins being left in the new spot ready for pick-up, the bin collector drove down near to the houses again and “smelling sludge” was deposited outside.

“I cannot believe this has caused so many problems,” Lee said.

“We dragged the bins to the border last winter starting from September. I think what happened this time is a new driver, who didn’t know the restriction imposed on us, reversed down probably with the same leaky truck and covered our area with sludge again.”

Lee added that the problem didn’t happen when the blue bins were collected and urged the council to get the problem lorry repaired.

The council spokesperson added: “While we thought we had resolved this issue previously, we will now be sending a supervisor to monitor collections there for the next six weeks. We will ensure that our crews follow the correct procedures in future.

“The leakage was caused by a mechanical problem, which is now being rectified. Upon being notified of the issue, we sent a crew to thoroughly clean the affected area.

“We will ensure that the practice of reversing into the private road is stopped and will ensure supervisors monitor future collections to make sure of it.

“We have also launched an internal investigation to determine the root cause of this issue and prevent future occurrences.”

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