TORY bosses say Colchester Council should be FINED for not collecting residents’ rubbish.

The authority introduced controversial new waste rules last month which mean black sacks are collected fortnightly, instead of weekly.

Some residents have been given wheelie bins while others are now restricted to three sacks per fortnight.

The changes are in a bid to cut the amount of waste going to landfill.

But the new system has been plagued by teething problems, including missed collections and residents’ confusion.

Now opposing Tory councillors say the council must start paying the price.

At tomorrow’s full council meeting, leader Dennis Willetts will put forward the drastic motion, using a historic law, calling for the council to be fined if bin men fail to collect residents’ rubbish, The Tory group claims the borough has become a “rubbish tip”.

Mr Willets said the motion is in response to the council preparing to invoke the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, which gives it the powers to issue fixed penalties fines of up to £100 on homes who fail to put out the correct rubbish at the proper time for collection.

He said: “This is a draconian misuse of the council’s powers. The council’s focus should be on educating people to recycle, rather than fining households, many of which cannot afford to pay whopping fines for very minor mistakes in what rubbish they put out for recycling.

“From Victorian days, it was recognised that to reduce disease and make urban areas habitable, local authorities had a duty to remove all household waste.

“Our motion to council seeks to restore this balance.”

He added: “If the council fails to collect household waste correctly put out for collection, then it should also be fined for littering the streets.

“We strongly support the re-introduction of the principle espoused in the Public Health Act 1875 that the council should pay a financial penalty to the householder for every day during which the council defaults on collecting its waste.”

Council leader Paul Smith (Lib Dem) called the move “opportunistic”.

He added: “I think what he is trying to do is deflect attention from the excellent results the new system is having in Colchester.

“We make just under quarter of a million collections a week and the percentage of missed collections is a fraction of one per cent and it’s declining.”