A WOMAN from Worcester is angry with the council for not collecting her recycling bin and then taking more than a week to tell her why.

Linda Smith of Broadfield Gardens, Warndon Villages, was surprised when the bin men left her green bin unemptied on Thursday, October 8.

She said she contacted the council on numerous occasions for an explanation and was finally told by a member of the collection team the bin had not been emptied because it was full of food and was contaminated.

Mrs Smith, aged 48, said: “I had no idea why my bin wasn’t collected and after a week of trying to find out I was told it was contaminated.

“There is no food in my bin whatsoever so I don’t know why they have said there is.

“I don’t understand why they didn’t leave me a note to explain why they didn’t take the recycling. It is not right that I have to spend all my time phoning up to try and find out.

“I will have nearly a month’s worth of recycling to be collected by the time they come back next week.

“If I put my recycling in a separate bag I doubt they will collect it andI don’t like putting black bags out on the street.”

Mike Harrison, head of cleaner and greener at the council, said: “The majority of cases of bins not being emptied are when they are not put out.

“If a bin is contaminated the collectors have got cards which can be left and they will record everything on diary sheets.

“It’s not very often we don’t take stuff. We will always try and take it if we can.

“But if one bin is contaminated it will contaminate the whole load so we have to be very careful.”

Mr Harrison said a recycling bin which is collected during black bin week would just be put in with the normal waste and not recycled.

He said: “If Mrs Smith is having problems with the capacity of her bin she can put the rest of her recycling into a separate bag and leave it out with the green bin. I will pass on a note to the collectors and make sure it gets collected.”