A council have sparked backlash after it requested residents to collect leaves on their street to keep them clear as not everyone was left happy about the situation.
Cardiff Council has left some locals furious after it put out a call for volunteers to help sweep up fallen autumn leaves from the streets. In its 'Big Sweep' scheme, which has been running in parts of the Welsh capital for the last seven years, it encourages neighbours to help one another to keep their streets clean.
However, because the collection teams unable to "be everywhere at once" as they were piled up with work during the busy period, the Welsh council opted to ask residents to help out. The council even provided bin bags to sweep up the fallen leaves.
However, despite individuals and groups of neighbours being encouraged to get involved, some residents have called the scheme a "joke", and said that the work should only be done by the council.
And while the 'Big Sweep' has proven popular by bringing communities together, others have said that partaking in this is not their responsibility.
Promoting the initiative on its Facebook page, the council said: "If you live somewhere with trees on your street, then why not take part in a local “Big Sweep”?
"We will provide bags and you can collect the leaves on your street. This community volunteering can be done either individually by yourself or you can get your neighbours involved for a leaf clear up."
However, while many praised the scheme, others were quick to voice their opposition. In fact, a number of users commented on the post and claimed that residents should not be expected out to carry out "council work" while also paying the council.
One person wrote: "Exactly £125 a month and they want me to clean the leaves up, not on my watch."
Another asked: "How much do you pay us per hour to do the job we pay you to do via our council tax annual payments?"
And others criticised the council's decision to make less frequent kerbside garden waste collections during the autumn and winter months.
A Facebook user said: "Do residents that do get a council tax rebate for doing your jobs for you?," while others said the call for volunteers was "unbelievable" and "a joke".
Many also went on to question why the scheme was being promoted just weeks after the same council confirmed kerbside garden waste collections were being reduced to a monthly service before being suspended fully during December, January and February.
While the council has defended this decision, with the amount of garden waste collected reducing significantly over the winter months, others have called for collections to be made more regularly.
One person queried: "If you can provide and pickup full bags, why can't you continue collecting green bins? This thought process of the council is way off and as usual makes no sense. Just do your job for which we pay!
"Cardiff as a city is getting dirtier and dirtier. I've heard so many people in the city saying how dirty it looks because there is no street cleaning. You'll be asking the shop workers to collect rubbish next."
Another asked: "Why not UP the collection of green bins during this time rather than reduce them? It doesn’t make sense to use more plastic when we have large receptacles to collect this biomatter."
A third observer pointed out: "But you’ve reduced the frequency of green bin collections? Residents are far more likely to clear outside their house/road if it’s convenient & leaves can be deposited straight in their green bins, none of this collecting specific bags malarkey - unfortunately ours is full."
However, other locals have praised the scheme, with one pointing out: "My parents and grandparents used to always clean in front of the house and kerbs. This has passed onto myself and I hope my kids will follow."
Another backed them up, saying: "It's called 'taking pride in your neighbourhood'. You know, like sweeping and washing the pavements outside your house like your great grandmothers used to do, instead of sitting back and saying 'not my job'.
"Most folk these days seem to have lost all that sense of pride, although in the street next to us, it's noticeable that some still do it."
A spokesperson for Cardiff Council went on to explain that figures show that the amount of garden waste collected from residents’ homes reduces by 80 per cent over the winter season - with collection crews instead focusing on the collection of food waste, black bag waste and recycling which significantly increases as people spend more time at home leading up to Christmas.
They added that the Big Sweep programme is purely voluntary and aims to "engender goodwill and two-way respect between residents and council staff," having proven popular in past years.
The council spokesperson said: “The idea of the ‘Big Sweep’ isn’t for the public to carry out work that the council will be doing, but to reach out to community groups and individuals that are established across the city, who volunteer to help out through the Love Where You Live campaign - Love Where You Live, Keep Cardiff Tidy.
“The ‘Big Sweep’ has been running for seven years in Pontcanna and Riverside and has since spread to other areas. It is about residents and the council working together to remove the huge amounts of leaves that collect on certain streets."
They continued to say: "The programme was established by the community and is extremely popular with hundreds of residents taking part. The sweeps engender goodwill and two-way respect between the residents and council staff.
“The wider Love Where You Live campaign was devised to bring communities together, so that residents can take pride in the communities that they live in. This is reflected in some of the comments that have been published on social media in relation to the ‘Big Sweep’, although it is accepted that some people will always be negative towards volunteer community schemes like this."
The spokesperson have also urged other locals to take part in the scheme, saying: “As part of the ‘Big Sweep’, the council will provide the bags and collect them afterwards. If anyone would like to take part and are not already part of a volunteer group, please get in touch via email."
