COUNCIL bosses have appealed to residents to be patient in the early days of the new waste collection scheme.

Zone wardens have been dispatched to Meander Mews and Reed Walk to clear up the excess black bags where it was unclear which bags in a communal rubbish pile belonged to which household and advised residents about recycling.

Colchester Council’s new waste boss Jessica Scott-Boutell said residents should now put their own waste at the boundary of their homes - not in a pile.

She said: “We have spoken with a huge number of our residents at our recent recycling roadshows to help them understand and prepared for the new collection service.

“Our zone teams have met with residents who, over the last few years, have been using central collection points for their rubbish, to assist our crews.

“To help deliver the new service more efficiently, and to assist us in monitoring the new three-bag limit, we’re asking these households to place their recycling and rubbish at the boundary of their property for collection, not in a pile.”

More than 15,000 recycling boxes have been handed out to residents over the last few weeks and the council has been forced to order extra boxes due to the unprecedented demand.

They are likely to be available for collection on Friday.

A total of 992 households have applied for an exemption for them to receive a larger wheelie bin or to be allowed extra black sack collections with officers aiming to deal with the requests as soon as possible.

Colchester Council leader Paul Smith thanked residents for being patient and said the new system would inevitably need time to bed in.

He said: “The majority of residents have got to grips with the new waste and recycling system very quickly, and I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding during the initial roll-out of the new collection service to over 80,000 homes across the borough.

“There have been a few teething problems, as you’d expect with the launch of any complex service, but I would urge residents to continue to bear with us.

“I encourage residents to use their new recycling calendar to ensure they’re putting the correct containers out on the right collection day.

“Our collection crews will be leaving a sticker on bags or containers to advise residents why they were not picked up.

“We advise residents to check their recycling calendar to ensure the correct recycling and rubbish is left at the kerbside for collection.”

Residents are being advised their blue week collection will include the non-recylable rubbish limited to three bags, cans tins and glass.

Green week collections are for paper, cardboard, mixed plastics, textile and garden waste.

For more information visit colchester.gov.uk/recycling.