Residents left without new food waste bins

Confusion after council's new waste collection service misses out some food bin deliveries

WHILE West Berkshire's controversial new food waste collection service was rolled out this week, several residents have contacted Newburytoday.co.uk to report not having received their new food waste kitchen caddies.

The error has led West Berkshire Council to invite those who still do not have one to get in touch.

Anthony Jenkins, of Gaywood Drive, said he and some of his neighbours had been left scratching their heads this week.

“No-one really knows what is going on,” he said.

“If you pay your council tax you enter into a contract and they should not change that contract without at least consulting us at first.

“I have been taking my bags of rubbish up to landfill myself, are they going to repay me the petrol money?

“We have not been told anything about this change, they have been elected to represent us and they are not listening.”

Kitchen caddies have been delivered to homes across the district over the last month for residents to put food waste inside.

The food waste bags are to be placed inside the black bins one week, which will go to landfill, and in green bins the next week, which will be sent to the new household waste recycling facility in Padworth.

For those with a communal bin store area the service will not change until 2012.

A spokesman for West Berkshire Council, Keith Ulyatt, said: “Delivery of the kitchen caddies has been completed as far as possible. We have encouraged households who should have one, but haven't got one yet to contact us by emailing customerservices@westberks.gov.uk or phoning (01635) 519080.

“Of the 60,000 households delivered a caddy, we have had just 185 calls which represents only a third of one percent still to get one.

“We are working all this week, including Saturday, to try to complete that.”

A query put to Veolia about how the new service was being taken up was also answered by Mr Ulyatt, who said: “If food waste bags are put in green wheelie bins along with garden waste, short of going through each bin it's not going to be possible to tell how much food waste is being put in those.

“The recycling and landfill rates for the district over the following months will be the accurate indicator of change.”