The council saw bin queries more than double and the number of formal complaints triple after introducing a multi-bin recycling scheme to 123,000 homes across the borough last November, according to reports from the Stockport Express and Daily Mail.

Complaints reportedly centred around the size of the new black bins for residual waste being too small, the frequency of collections, and the degree of paperwork required in order to get an extra bin.

In the six months after November, the council had 59,265 queries to its call centre about bins and recycling – more than double the figure for the same period the previous year.

According to the newspaper, the majority of bin complaints were not upheld, as the council considered no fault had been found in the application of its bins policy.

Council leader Dave Goddard was quoted as saying: “Clearly this number of complaints means that people do care. We have a very articulate electorate in Stockport. Every complaint is an opportunity.”

Another council spokesperson said complaints were settling down to ‘pre roll-out levels’ after a spike when the new system was introduced.

According to the council, the new service has had a positive effect, increasing Stockport’s recycling rate to over 50% and avoiding landfill costs of almost £3M.

Maxine Perella

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