Anger over Wolverhampton slop bucket plan

Angry residents today said they did not want slop buckets which Wolverhampton City Council is rolling out to every home to recycle food.

The move to get 97,000 households to recycle their food scraps will begin from January.

Deliveries of the 23-litre buckets, dubbed food 'caddies', will get under way and each household will also get a smaller five-litre bucket to keep in the kitchen.

Food waste such as potato peelings, teabags and leftovers will be collected every week, and the size of wheelie bins for rubbish that cannot be recycled is set to be almost halved later next year to encourage people to use the caddies.

Newbridge resident Brian Bailey contacted the Express & Star to voice his disgust.

The 70-year-old, of Newbridge Drive, said: "I won't have this bin and I won't use it. It will smell and it will attract vermin."

Gerald Gabb, aged 80, of Windermere Road, Tettenhall, said: "They used to have these things during the war to provide food for the pigs. I don't think it should happen it's a complete waste of time and money."

Mr Gabb, who worked for the former Midlands Electricity Board for 30 years, said: "What happens if some of this food waste gets dropped? It will just stay there on the floor."

The food bins will be rolled out over an eight-week period by March 31 and emptied weekly. Bosses say the move is necessary for the authority to achieve a 50 per cent target for recycling of household waste.