Residents in Southminster are celebrating after overflowing recycling bins in a prominent part of the village were finally emptied.

They claim they have had to put up with a glass bank outside the Kings Head pub in the high street for weeks overflowing with bottles meant for recycling.

Parish councillors say they had contacted waste officers at Maldon District Council around one month ago to complain about the problem, but new contractors, Berrymans Recycling, said that they were only notified this week.

Southminster Parish Councillor, Maureen Sullivan said: "Before the contractors changed, it seemed to be emptied on a regular basis."

Ben Brown, senior waste management officer at Maldon District Council, said that because of the changes to the scheme there would be teething troubles, but that the council was dealing with these.

There is currently only one bank at the pub car park and Berrymans Recycling have said that they will add a second bank or make collections every three weeks to prevent any further problems.

The glass banks are collected with a lorry using a mechanical arm to lift the bins and collection problems can also be a result of cars parked in the way of a bin.

Brian Head, recycling manager at Berrymans said that there is a phone number on the banks and residents could call if there were any problems.

Published Friday, April 25, 2003

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