Great-gran, 94, wheels garden waste bin two miles to tip during strike
- 10 months ago
A 94-year-old great-grandmother became so fed up with waiting for her bins to be collected during a strike she wheeled her garden waste two miles to the tip herself.
Nonagenarian Nan Miller took matters into her own hands after growing frustrated at waiting for three weeks for her bin to be collected.
Despite suffering from a heart condition, Ms Miller, from Canterbury in Kent, trekked for more than an hour to her nearest recycling centre amid strikes by GMB refuse workers.
Luckily, the great-grandmother of two was eventually pitied by a passerby who spotted her struggling with her bin and offered to take her the rest of the way.
The retired French interpreter had warned Canterbury City Council that if her green bin remained unemptied by Friday afternoon, she would begrudgingly wheel it to the tip herself.
Strikes were launched by members of the GMB union working for Canenco, the waste contractor employed by the city council, at the beginning of this month.
Three pay-rise offers have so far been rejected, with union bosses warned not to expect a fourth.
Although non-GMB members have still been working throughout this period, rushing around to ensure household waste is collected, recycling and garden waste collections have been more limited.
Despite paying an extra £47.25 a year on top of council tax to have her garden waste collected, Ms Miller grew slowly exasperated after watching her bin slowly fill up over the past three weeks.
Ahead of her march to the tip, she said: "If they think they can get away with it, well I’m jolly well going to show them that they can’t.
"I’m fed up to the back teeth – which are my own. My bin needs emptying so I’m going to push it to the tip myself.
“They think: ‘Oh well, it can wait’. But, I’m sorry, I’ve given up waiting.
“It’s going to put a strain on me, of course, but my roots are in the north and we are a determined people – don’t play with me.”
Ms Miller has suffered two cardiac arrests and was due to visit the hospital for an appointment regarding a blood clot when she set out on her journey to the tip.
True to her word, after hearing nothing from the council by Friday afternoon, she began wrestling her bin amidst blustery conditions along narrow pavements towards the recycling centre.
She would occasionally dangle a thumb towards the road in an attempt to cut her journey short by hailing a ride in a passing van or lorry, grumbling: "This is a real pain in the neck...
"And I’ve got a real pain in my neck – I’m not just doing this for fun.
"I’ve already walked three times as far as I did when I had to do this years ago and I thought I was more than old enough to be doing it then."
But as she walked Ms Miller realised she wouldn't be able to make it to the recycling centre before it shut.
Fortunately, the sympathetic driver of a passing Range Rover stopped to give her a ride for the final stretch of the journey.
Nonagenarian Nan Miller took matters into her own hands after growing frustrated at waiting for three weeks for her bin to be collected.
Despite suffering from a heart condition, Ms Miller, from Canterbury in Kent, trekked for more than an hour to her nearest recycling centre amid strikes by GMB refuse workers.
Luckily, the great-grandmother of two was eventually pitied by a passerby who spotted her struggling with her bin and offered to take her the rest of the way.
The retired French interpreter had warned Canterbury City Council that if her green bin remained unemptied by Friday afternoon, she would begrudgingly wheel it to the tip herself.
Strikes were launched by members of the GMB union working for Canenco, the waste contractor employed by the city council, at the beginning of this month.
Three pay-rise offers have so far been rejected, with union bosses warned not to expect a fourth.
Although non-GMB members have still been working throughout this period, rushing around to ensure household waste is collected, recycling and garden waste collections have been more limited.
Despite paying an extra £47.25 a year on top of council tax to have her garden waste collected, Ms Miller grew slowly exasperated after watching her bin slowly fill up over the past three weeks.
Ahead of her march to the tip, she said: "If they think they can get away with it, well I’m jolly well going to show them that they can’t.
"I’m fed up to the back teeth – which are my own. My bin needs emptying so I’m going to push it to the tip myself.
“They think: ‘Oh well, it can wait’. But, I’m sorry, I’ve given up waiting.
“It’s going to put a strain on me, of course, but my roots are in the north and we are a determined people – don’t play with me.”
Ms Miller has suffered two cardiac arrests and was due to visit the hospital for an appointment regarding a blood clot when she set out on her journey to the tip.
True to her word, after hearing nothing from the council by Friday afternoon, she began wrestling her bin amidst blustery conditions along narrow pavements towards the recycling centre.
She would occasionally dangle a thumb towards the road in an attempt to cut her journey short by hailing a ride in a passing van or lorry, grumbling: "This is a real pain in the neck...
"And I’ve got a real pain in my neck – I’m not just doing this for fun.
"I’ve already walked three times as far as I did when I had to do this years ago and I thought I was more than old enough to be doing it then."
But as she walked Ms Miller realised she wouldn't be able to make it to the recycling centre before it shut.
Fortunately, the sympathetic driver of a passing Range Rover stopped to give her a ride for the final stretch of the journey.