Families whose bins have not been collected on time for nearly a month have expressed their anger that they have to get rid of the rubbish themselves.

Households along Brook Crescent in Chingford say overflowing bins have marred their street as some are even forced to take their own recycling to the Recycling Centre in Kings Road.

They claim Waltham Forest Council’s rubbish contractor, Kier, has only managed to collect everyone’s waste twice in the past four weeks and only days after they were meant to do so.

Vicky Beaver, 29, of Brook Crescent, said: “This isn’t acceptable, we have bins that are overflowing every week. We were literally having to take our recycling down ourselves.

“It’s beyond a joke. We’re forever calling up to complain but the council doesn’t seem to care.”

Kier is meant to collect rubbish and recycling every Wednesday morning but in early January there was no collection at all.

The following week households said half the road was missed out by Kier, and then last week and this week collections were only made late on Friday evenings, meaning the bins were left to pile up. 

Mrs Beaver said: “It really is getting too much. What are they paid for if we’re doing their job for them half the time?”

Neighbour Moss Nikoi, 67, said: “The whole thing’s ridiculous. Our street ends up looking a mess. The rubbish gets everywhere because there's not really space in the bins for Thursday's and Friday's rubbish, so the bags do get left next to them.

“It’s really disgusting. When they do come it’s late at night and it disturbs the whole road.”

The firm has been fined £50,000 for poor performance on its rubbish and recycling contract yet was handed a temporary deal worth £800,000 to carry out extra street cleaning services during the Olympics.

The council announced last year that it would not renew Kier’s contract to clean the borough’s streets, and last week announced that Spanish firm Urbaser SA was its preferred bidder for the £42 million agreement.

A rubbish truck eventually came on Friday at 9pm to collect bins after residents bombarded the council with complaints.

Sidney Murphy, 84, said: “It’s irritating that it has to come to this, that we need to remind them of their duties. But the collection was quick after I actually spoke to someone who seemed to know what he was doing.”

The council has been approached for comment.