Attempt to put lid on bin furore

The council is to relax its new regulations on waste collection

Dumfries and Galloway Council has put its new policy on rubbish collection on hold after it sparked public and political outcry.

Regulations had been introduced to stop the emptying of full wheelie bins with lids which would not close properly.

The authority had also proposed not to collect any side waste unless it was in council bags, which cost 50 pence.

The new rules have now been put on hold until at least December when a new date will be set for full implementation.

The policy sparked political anger with claims that people had seen their rubbish left untouched because their bins were open by an inch or more.

We received a lot of feedback last week and awareness of the detail of the changes was quite low Cllr Sean Marshall

Corporate Director of Combined Services, Geoff Lewis, said it was clear more time was needed for people to adapt to the rules.

"We undertook a range of advertising and publicity in the month before the change," he said.

"But many people had missed it and we recognise the importance of extensive communication when there are changes to service delivery."

He confirmed that a report would now go to the committee in December to set a date for full implementation.

In the meantime, the council has said it will go back to collecting excess waste and helping households comply with the new limits.

Longer run-in

The authority brought in the policy to try to cut the amount of domestic rubbish it sends to landfill.

Chairman of the combined services committee, Sean Marshall, said it was clear the council needed to do more to get its message across.

"We received a lot of feedback last week and awareness of the detail of the changes was quite low," he said.

He added that while the vast majority of people did manage to comply with the rules it was important that everyone understood the changes.

"We have therefore taken the comments on board and agreed on a longer run-in, particularly with Christmas coming up," he said.