Apology over flyers to explain Dudley bin change

Changes to bin collections, which have caused uproar in a Black Country borough, were poorly publicised because the authority wanted to save cash, a senior officer told a public meeting.

John Millar told residents in Dudley he regretted a decision to cut costs on the publicity campaign announcing a new rubbish regime in the borough.

Plans to put leaflets through every door were scrapped in favour of placing flyers in rolls of bin bags distributed to each home.

The council received 1,000 complaints and inquiries in a week since the changes came into effect. A three-bag limit on collections from each household was introduced alongside the issuing of bin bags in bulk, which were designed to last for months.

Many residents who have complained to the authority say they never received the leaflet warning them about the cost-cutting measures.

And director of urban environment Mr Millar, responding after the issue was raised at a meeting of Brierley Hill area committee last night, said: "We hold our hands up in terms of the way it has been communicated. We should have spent that bit of extra money to put leaflets through doors."

Mr Millar was responding after pensioner Tom Jones confronted councillors during the meeting at the Brier School in Kingswinford.

"This is something that affects every single person who lives in the borough and we haven't really been told about it properly at all," the 66-year-old father-of-two and grandfather-of-two said.

After acknowledging the council was at fault over the leaflets, Mr Millar defended the changes.

He said the authority would save £250,000 a year as a result of using smaller crews. The council estimated it would save a further £250,000 each year because less waste would be processed at the incinerator, Mr Millar revealed. In less than a fortnight since the changes were introduced, recycling was up five per cent.

Mr Millar claimed the new system was fairer as people abused the unlimited collections.