Rubbish is ‘too dirty’ to collect

Richard Lowery said he is at a loss to why they ignored it, saying it was mostly junk mail and papers.

But five days after he complained to Warwick District Council (WDC), he said an official called at his home in Rideswell Grove and, after speaking to his step-daughter, took all the paper away.

Mr Lowery said: “We fished through it after they left the note saying it was too dirty and could not find anything dirty or greasy.”

He said three red boxes were put out for recycling and wondered why if some paper was considered unacceptable, why it could not have been put in one of the empty boxes with a note.

“This is an absolute joke and deters people from recycling.

“I’m sure that we are not the only family in Whitnash suffering this abysmal service.”

Mr Lowery said since moving to his home three years ago they have complained a number of times to the council about recycling teams failing to turn up completely.

“But for the last five or six months it’s been good. I think they are working to such a strict timetable and when they see something they don’t like, they leave it, instead of sorting it out at the kerbside.”

A spokesperson from WDC said: “We are aware of issues surrounding paper recycling collection at this property. Kerb-side sorting does work well and is more cost-effective than co-mingled recycling, but as our crews sort by hand, we need to ensure it is safe and clean to handle.

“Due to this, identifying what can and can’t be collected can sometimes be problematic and in these cases a recycling officer will visit to investigate.

“Warwick District Council is committed to improving and increasing recycling across the district and we continue to encourage residents to recycle as much as they can.

“For more information on recycling please visit the dedicated Recycling, Waste and Environment section on our website www.warwickdc.gov.uk.”