Residents in Haydon Hill and Southcourt claim collectors are refusing to remove recycling that is not left in crates owned by Aylesbury Vale District Council.

In Haydon Hill, Karen Oliver, of Gogh Road, said there had been no problems until last week. She has more tins and plastics than the amount that fits in the boxes provided by the council so she uses her own as well, but last Thursday she was left with two empty crates belonging to AVDC - while the three others were untouched. Her neighbour was also left with a full crate of recycling.

Mrs Oliver said: "I've always recycled plastic and tin and had enough to fill the crates and had to use three other Safeway crates. They have collected them before, but the crew that did the collection yesterday did not pick them up.

"They want us to recycle and I have done that but the crew decided not to take the stuff that wasn't in the black containers. I can't believe that someone saw they're not AVDC containers and said 'I'm not collecting it'. It's absurd.

"The alternative would be to put it all in landfill."

She said it was possible to order more crates from the council, but not without costs. "We rang up and you have to pay £2 for some baskets. They won't take a payment over the phone by card. You have to post them a cheque or go down to the offices. I already pay tax."

A resident of Lowe Gardens, Ceely Road, Southcourt, experienced the same problem. "The plastics are not being collected. I didn't have enough crates for them so I put them in a bag.

"We pay tax and we pay for the waste to be taken away. Why bother? The roads are left in an appalling state.

"The dustbin men are perfect and go out of their way to help, but the recycling people leave it in a mess."

He said he had problems with green waste recycling as well. "We pay for green bags to be collected separately but they go straight in where the black bags are."

AVDC operations manager Bob Bryant, said: "The recycling containers are specifically designed for our collection service. If we let residents use other storage methods then there would be greater potential for contamination and a higher risk of injury to our crews.

"We can only collect what the recycling companies will accept. If we take other materials, we run the risk of deliveries being rejected. If this happens, we have to send the whole load to landfill, which is a real waste of time and resources.

"Every household should have two recycling baskets: one for paper, and one for cans and plastics. Most properties also have a box for glass recycling.

"If residents need more containers they can order a set of three for just £2. This fee covers the cost of delivery."

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