A problem arose when the council decided it would be beneficial to get all residents used to the idea of kerbside collections in advance of new wheeled bins being issued.
This meant that residents had to carry dustbins or black bags to the kerb, instead of having these collected from back doors, and many who were physically unable to do so complained.
Council leader Dennis Norton told letsrecycle.com: “It was badly managed if I'm honest.
“We had decided to implement the scheme over each of our eight routes in turn, but someone, and I have not established whom, decided to move to kerbside collection early to get the public used to it,” he explained.
But no heads have rolled over the fiasco. “We just want to get the thing back on track and we have not thought of anything further yet,” said Mr Norton.
Bromsgrove has a new fleet of Mercedes refuse vehicles to collect green wheeled bins of recyclable materials and black bins for residuals on alternate weeks from 16 March.
This will be in stages which will take some months until all residents have the new bins and boxes for dry recyclables.
Regret
In a letter to residents, Mr Norton said introduction of the new service “has been badly managed and I very much regret that”.
He wrote: “None of us like change, especially with tried and tested services, but we really have no choice if we are to deal with this problem in the future.
“I do understand that many of you have reservations about a bi-weekly collection, but since we will be separating our waste into different wheelie bins and boxes, that really should not cause a problem.”
Bromsgrove recycled 9.13% of its waste in 2002/03, but composted none. It has to hit an 18% target by 2005, he said.
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