Couple set up bin collection firm

The Bin and Gone service is running in North Yorkshire

A couple have set up their own rubbish collection company after their council switched to a fortnightly service.

Chris and Kate Whyatt said they now had "horrendous" rubbish problems so began the service to collect waste in the weeks their local council does not.

The couple, of Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, said 75 households were paying £90-a-year for the Bin and Gone service.

Richmondshire District Council said its fortnightly service was "successful".

'No need'

The business, which collects rubbish in the Richmondshire and Hambleton areas, launched on Tuesday.

Rubbish collected by the firm will be dumped at Yorkwaste's Tancred site in Brompton-on-Swale.

Mrs Whyatt said: "Every week, we are left with several bin bags of rubbish which has necessitated a trip to the tip.

Our alternate weekly collections are hugely successful with residents embracing the change Sean Little Richmondshire District Council

"We don't intend to make a lot of money out of it. We just want to solve an environment problem that we've had ourselves."

But Sean Little, head of waste and street scene at Richmondshire District Council, defended the authority's fortnightly collection policy.

He said: "People living in the district pay council tax to have their waste and recycling dealt with; there really is no need to be paying any extra.

"Our alternate weekly collections are hugely successful and generally well received, with residents embracing the change."

Mr Little said if people used the system correctly and separated their recyclable waste from general household rubbish, there would be no need for extra collections.