MALVERN Hills District Council is taking action to head off criticism that it is forcing elderly and disabled people to carry heavy bin bags to the front of their properties for collection.

When the council's new refuse collection and recycling scheme begins on January 12, most bags will be collected from the front of houses.

However, people unable to move their rubbish will be able to apply to the council for an exemption by filling in a form available from the customer service centre at Malvern Library. Approval for the exemption scheme will be sought at a meeting on Tuesday (December 16).

George Waugh, chief officer for Malvern and District Age Concern, said the charity had been campaigning for the elderly to be exempt from the scheme since it was first announced by the council.

"We've been trying to do this for a long time," he said. "The same problem applies for people with disabilities who are unable to take their rubbish to the front."

At a meeting of the council's executive committee on Tuesday, councillors will be asked to recommend that people who are over retirement age, disabled or too infirm to move bags are exempt.

People who do not have a garden or driveway on which to leave the bags will also be exempt from the rules, as refuse sacks cannot be left on roads or pavements.

Council leader Tom Wells said: "We're very keen to assist residents wherever we can. We want to work with the local people to achieve the maximum level of recycling."

In January 2002, a council request that residents should leave bags at the front of their homes provoked angry letters from elderly and disabled people to the Malvern Gazette.