Wheelie bin chaos

Despite teething troubles, Rother and its consultants say that given the scale of the operation it has generally gone well.

They say Rother has benefited from learning from the experience of authorities which pioneered alternative weekly collections.

However, Observer readers say they are less than happy with the way the swap from bin liners to wheelie bins is going.

Narrow town centre pavements were quickly blocked as householders with no hope of accommodating them took delivery of wheelie bins.

Others with wide drives were astounded to receive notices from contractors Verdant saying their properties were "not suitable" for the new service.

The biggest furore was caused by a breakdown in communication.

Rother says Verdant sent out notices last Thursday warning householders in north Bexhill, Old Town and Pebsham that their collection day was being swapped from Tuesday to Friday.

Despite six extra staff having been put on for the purpose, so many people phone the Community Help Point centre to say their waste hadn't been collected that many later complained their calls had not been answered.

Bin men attempting to make collections in Reginald Road on Wednesday morning found that householders there had not been told their collection had been brought forward a day and had not put out their waste.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Rother head of amenities Madeleine Gorman and Stephen Bates, director of communications for consultants Enviro Comms, brought in to publicise the swap under the slogan Love Rother, Love Recycling blamed a postal delay.

But complainants like disabled David Leigh, of Holliers Hill , said Verdant's notification arrived on Wednesday - the day AFTER their original collection date - bearing Tuesday's June 5 postmark and a first class stamp.

Mr Leigh, whose waste was placed at the roadside by a neighbour, is threatening to withhold a month's Council Tax in protest.

Further confusion resulted from Verdant notification to householders in Martyns Way and Seabourne Road, Pebsham, that their properties - mainly bungalows and houses with wide drives - were "not suitable" for wheelie bins.

Madeleine Gorman said this was a mistake by Verdant.

The notices should have stated that because of operational difficulties - principally the April arson attack on Rother's Wainwright Road wheelie bin storage area - wheelie bin deliveries would be delayed and the properties would remain on weekly bin liner collection for the interim.

Wheelie bins which lined the length of Park Road this week had been delivered in error and would be removed, the head of amenities said.

"The contractors went a road too far'¦"

Wheelie bins blocked half the narrow pavement width in Leopold Road where terraced Victorian homes are mostly in multiple occupation.

Asked about residents' concern that they could be held liable in law if anyone tripped over a bin outside their home, Madeleine Gorman said: "The equipment is owned by Rother. Whilst on residents' property it is made available for their use.

"As with all matters on public highways, anyone who causes an obstruction or leaves something in a dangerous place commits an offence. But it is Verdant who carry the insurance cover."

A call from a householder in North Trade Road, Battle typifies anticipated problems in rural areas.

The caller put out their wheelie bin where contractors had left it. But bin men refused to empty it, leaving notification that the bin had not been left in an appropriate place.

Madeleine Gorman said Rother were advising the public under such circumstances to contact the call centre so agreement could be reached between householder and contractor on an acceptable location.

Asked why Rother is not accepting glass among material to be placed in the black recyclables boxes issued, Stephen Bates said the high volume of glass already being collected did not make kerbside collection viable at present.

Asked about overflowing bring banks at Little Common and Pebsham, Madeline Gorman said Rother had requested in April that bring bank collections be doubled.

She acknowledged that there was still an overflow problem and regretted that recycling firms were unable to accept overflow material, classing it as "contaminated" and that there were no local resources to sort it.

Overall, Rother says a difficult logistical operation has gone well so far. Some 34,000 out of Rother's 40,000 households have been issued with black wheelie bins for household rubbish.

The remaining 6,000 households - in Bexhill where they were nearest the Verdant depot - would receive them as soon as possible.

The issue of green wheelie bins for compostible garden waste has been held back until the system settles.