Leeds councillor accused of 'talking rubbish about rubbish' after missed bin collection comments

Coun Mohammed Rafique, the council’s executive member for environment, said earlier this month that more cars parked outside homes during the day were obstructing some residential streets, making them impossible for refuse lorries to drive down. He defended the remarks this week after he was accused by a Conservative counterpart of talking “rubbish about rubbish”.

Speaking at a full council meeting, Coun Rafique said more than half of missed bin collections across Leeds over the last week had been because of vehicle obstruction. Others reasons blamed included roadworks, fly-tipping obstruction and vehicle breakdowns.

Asked by Guiseley and Rawdon councillor Paul Wadsworth if he agreed that his original remarks had been “rubbish about rubbish”, Coun Rafique replied: “Since I started driving in the 90s the number of cars on the road has more than doubled. There’s more cars on the streets than ever before.”

Addressing Coun Wadsworth directly, he added: “If you think that’s not the case, then you live in cloud cuckoo land. I stand by my comments.”

At a scrutiny meeting on January 5, Coun Rafique had said the city’s refuse service had improved in recent times, with less than 0.2 per cent of collections missed last year. Coun Wadsworth had queried that figure, suggesting that that performance was “not what we see on a daily basis.”