A resident of one of Bristol's student areas has reported that her street was left with rubbish blowing around it - and no one came to clear it up.
This was the scene in Highbury Villas, just off St Michael's Hill in Kingsdown this week, as the annual student clear out begins.
Every year around this time, people in areas with a large student population, like Redland, Kingsdown, Clifton, Cotham and Montpelier, complain to both Bristol Waste and Bristol City Council that students leaving their shared homes for the year dump their unwanted possessions and rubbish on the street.
Over the years, a number of initiatives have been put in place by both Bristol Waste, the council and the University of Bristol to combat this issue, but this year, the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted those projects, and the usual departures of students due to the lockdown.
But it appears, according to Hannah Loach, that it's already begun in Highbury Villas, a residential street very close to the University of Bristol campus.
She said she complained to Bristol Waste and the university a week ago about the mess her street has been left in - and as of Wednesday morning (July 1) it was all still there - except it had been blown around by the wind.
"Students fill their houses every year with plastic rubbish and leave it broken and stinking on the streets every June," she said.
"Bristol Waste Company aren't fit for purpose. I have been in contact with them and the university liaison officer for a week but nothing has yet been cleared. It's disgusting, and my council tax bill feels a bit of a ripoff," she added.
Initiatives put in place by Bristol Waste target landlords and students, encouraging them not to leave their rubbish behind and to plan in advance for the day they leave, but this year it doesn't seem to be happening.
"I don't blame the students. Landlords/ladies should take responsibilty. They also make huge profits, for doing virtually nothing," she added.
Bristol Live has contacted Bristol Waste and is awaiting a formal response.
