STOKE-ON-TRENT (Web Desk) – A Pakistani test cricketer has claimed that rubbish collection in England is worse than in his home country after council bosses refused to give him a bin, the DailyMail reported.
Rao Iftikhar Anjum, 34, said he was left ‘baffled’ when he was told to let household waste accumulate in his garden because of a backlog in requests for wheelie bins.
The former international player said the ‘unbelievable’ advice in a supposedly developed country has forced him to start taking his family’s bin bags to his cricket club.
And the farcical situation took another turn when his club bought a bin for the cricketer but were told by the council that it could not be used as it was the wrong colour.
Anjum, who moved to Stoke-on-Trent in April for the English cricket season, said having a bin at your home is a ‘basic right’ and questioned how home-owners are supposed to dispose of rubbish for months without attracting vermin.
The father-of-two said: “Unbelievably, the waste disposal service in Stoke-on-Trent is worse than in Pakistan.
“Over there you ask them for a bin and they give you two because they want you to do your bit and keep the place tidy.”
The cricketer said he has already lived in his new home for seven weeks without a bin.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council blamed the lack of availability on high demand and on previous occupants taking their bins when they moved out.
Anjum – who played one Test and 62 one-day internationals for Pakistan – is one of 711 people currently waiting for a bin, which cost around £26 each, from the council.
The chairman of Anjum’s club – Porthill Park Cricket Club, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire – described the situation as ‘ridiculous’.
Simon Ellams, 55, said: “He was told to leave the bags in the back garden but he can’t do that when he has two young children, it could attract rats. We just can’t believe it.”
A Stoke council spokesman said: “Bin deliveries are always subject to stock being available. Over the coming months we will be looking to address the backlog of requests by working with our suppliers.”
Anjum will move back to Pakistan in September after the end of the cricket season.
Keeping it tidy in Lahore: Street cleaners in in Anjum’s home country of Pakistan
