Jesmond residents say they are becoming “frustrated” with the overflowing bins on their back streets and the resulting issue of where to put their rubbish. 

The large metal-wheeled bins that line the back lanes of terraces in Jesmond are for shared use. But by the end of some weeks, many of the bins are full well before collection day and bulging bags of rubbish are left on the ground instead. 

Newcastle University mechanical engineering student Thomas Brown, who lives on Shortridge Terrace, told JesmondLocal: “Constantly you will go outside to throw your rubbish away and find that there is no room left and you have to join the others in leaving it on the street.

“I don’t want to do this but we can’t leave it in our house either.”

One resident, who asked not to be named, told JesmondLocal they had been attemtping to close the lids of bins in the back lanes to try to keep away “rats that are going to come if it stays like this”.

South Jesmond’s Labour councillor Milo Barnett acknowledged that overflowing bins are an issue that he has noticed cropping up in his inbox, although he said he would not consider it critical just yet. 

“It is slightly annoying when it happens but if you go to any British city there is excess rubbish,” said Barnett. “I’d like it to be better. It’s not the top problem in my inbox, but we do need to make sure we have a response and react. If an email is sent to me, we might not be able to responde within 24 hours but we will get back within a week, if not earlier. And although some things might not get resolved quickly, it doesn’t mean I am going to stop caring about it.”

Philip Browne, one of the Liberal Democrat councillors for North Jesmond, told JesmondLocal the council should provide more bins and offer residents more clarity and advice on recycling. Browne said he has advised residents in North Jesmond to bring bins into their gardens to stop them going missing, being contaminated or used to climb over walls.

Barnett, who has been in his role since May, said lack of funding was not the issue with the bins but agreed that part of the problem is incorrect items being placed in the wrong bin. “For example, if a bin for recycling has general rubbish in it, it means the bin cannot be collected straight away,” he said. “That’s not an issue with funding.

“There is a reason why, for example, university campuses don’t have loads of bins, because it can encourage more and more waste. Residents need to be mindful when they are taking their rubbish out, making sure they are recycling and doing simple things like breaking up their cardboard.”

Barnett said one factor behind the rise in rubbish is a shift in the Jesmond population. “Many of the four-person houses have become six-person houses now. That’s 50% more waste. And students tend to buy a lot of new things which leads to lots of cardboard boxes, lots of food waste. A student house is different to a family unit, but we do try and accommodate that, by putting out, for example, skips at the end of the academic year.”

Cheryl Turner, an Osborne Avenue resident for the last 15 years, said: “The students can’t solely be blamed for the mess. There is clearly an issue with the organisation and collection of the bins.”