BINMEN returned to the streets of Oxford today after bosses deemed some of the city’s roads safe enough for them to continue their rounds.

Although some collections have taken place since the New Year, last week’s heavy snowfall hampered many crews’ attempts to clear a backlog of waste.

Rubbish collectors have also had to abandon their usual rounds for the past week to help salt and clear roads and pathways.

A full waste collection service was meant to be up-and-running on Wednesday , but 3cm of overnight Snow put paid to that.

Crews were out in East Oxford yesterday, but there are still hundreds of homes on roads which remain impassable – even for dustcarts – whose wheelie bins have not been emptied.

Team leader Stuart Timony, 28, said: “We had snow last year, but it was gone within a couple of days. I’ve not known anything like this. It’s been a nightmare.

“The guys are itching to get it done and shift the backlog, but for the past week we have been shovelling snow.

“People have been understanding, but everyone wants their rubbish collected.

“In certain areas the conditions could not have been more treacherous.”

The main hazard for binmen is knowing where the edge of the pavement is.

Snow and ice pushed up against the roadside makes it impossible to see the kerb.

Many driveways and pavements are also icy, making moving a fully-loaded wheelie bin a dangerous exercise.

Dustcart driver Michael Fox said: “Once the vehicle starts sliding there is no way of stopping it, it could go any way the weight takes it and potentially that could be lethal for cars, people or whatever is in the way.

“A lot of residents in side roads are putting their bins out and ringing up to ask why they haven’t been emptied, but it’s purely safety.”

City binmen managed to clear the Christmas waste backlog before heavy snow fell last Tuesday.

However, the bad weather of the past week means crews will be working tomorrow in a bid to catch up.

An estimated 19 tonnes of waste will be collected per round.

City works manager Phil Dunsdon said: “It’s hard work, seriously hard work.

“The weather caught people on the hop and the normal things that we take for granted we couldn’t achieve.

“Where we thought we could get out we physically could not – and that’s where the frustration creeps in.”