People are fuming that waste collection delays blamed on last week’s bad weather will see many bins emptied almost two weeks late.

Recycling bins due to be collected on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week for many living in Wirral have still not been taken, with the council now saying some of them will not be collected until Tuesday next week.

General rubbish bins scheduled for collection last week may now not be emptied until Saturday, while catch-up garden waste collections will not take place at all.

The authority said this was down to last week’s “extreme weather”, which saw freezing temperatures, snow and ice hit Merseyside.

And because there were “dangerous conditions” on minor roads and pavements until Sunday evening, there is now a significant backlog.

That’s despite crews from Biffa, which carries out collections on behalf of the council, working “over the weekend” in a bid to catch up.

Cllr Anita Leech, the council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “On behalf of the council and our waste collection partner, Biffa, I acknowledge the difficulties that every household which has not had its bin collected has faced and can only sincerely apologise for this.

“However, Biffa cannot send crews out when there is a potential danger to residents, their properties or vehicles or, indeed, the collection crews themselves.

“There is a plan in place to address missed collections, whilst also maintaining regular scheduled collections this week. People will understand the reasons why we have to give priority to collecting non-recyclable waste – green bins – ahead of recyclable or garden waste.”

With the council announcing the news through its social media channels on Monday, many people voiced their frustrations, with some claiming the adverse weather conditions were not “extreme” enough to warrant such delays.

Twitter user @Johnny1978ad said: “I’m struggling to see why my bins haven’t been collected, I’m on a bus route, my road has been gritted since the snow, buses have been able to negotiate my road but a bin lorry can’t?”

While Scottish Farmer wrote: “Wirral council staff who all managed to get into work in the snow forced to explain to customers who also got into their work in the snow that none of their bins had been collected for a week because it snowed.”

David Doran asked why he had to wait “another week” for his bin to be collected – while Will Hawthorne called the situation a “load of utter rubbish”.

Fellow Twitter user @therealtopnachos added: “One day the roads were bad! You grit roads at last possible second to save pennies.. then leave residents with full bins that then get blown about the street!”

There were also complaints the delays would mean some bins being collected twice in the space of just a few days.

Meanwhile, others were more forgiving, with Sue Shinkfield writing on Facebook: “Thank you for doing your best in some very difficult conditions. Shame more folk don’t appreciate your efforts.”

Also on Facebook, Agnes Fitzgerald said: “Appreciate your updates. Last time I checked my rubbish was not complaining so perfectly happy! Stay safe and warm.”

When will my bins be collected?

  • Green bins (general household waste)

The local authority said it has collected “all green bins” from Wednesday, January 30. It says it’s aiming to collect all green bins still outstanding from Thursday and Friday last week by Saturday “at the latest”. The advice is to leave your bin out until it is collected.

Biffa will also, on this occasion, collect any additional waste bags left to the side of the bin.

  • Grey bins (recycling)

The council is aiming to collect grey bins on February 10, 11 and 12, but this “may be earlier”.

  • Brown bins (garden waste)

The council says it must prioritise green and grey bins, so is unable to collect any brown bin collections that were missed. Brown bins will be collected on the next scheduled day. The authority said it would collect any garden waste “that is presented correctly and not contaminated with other materials”.

The council said all scheduled collections for this week will take place as normal.