COUNCILLORS have praised employees and residents following major changes to recycling and refuse collection in Darlington.

Darlington Borough Council is set to save £400,000 in 2015/16 following the introduction of the alternate weekly collection service, which sees general rubbish taken one week and recyclable waste picked up the following week.

The savings are as a result of reduced numbers of collections and vehicles and lower landfill costs and higher recycling yields.

At a special meeting today (Friday, March 20), members of the authority’s place scrutiny committee praised the scheme and its successful introduction, but acknowledged there had been some teething problems and complaints.

From April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014, 322 complaints were received, while 400 complaints were received the following year.

Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for leisure and local environment, said: “This system is exactly the one that is right for Darlington.

“There were some teething problems, but I would like to thank you all for taking them on board."

Members heard that the number of small fly-tips had increased by 34 per cent following the introduction of wheelie bins, as residents can no longer put out as much waste as they want to on a collection day.

But recycling in the borough has increased significantly since the introduction of the new system and the amount of recyclable waste collected has risen by 72 per cent since 2013/14.

They also heard there had been problems with recycling blowing around on windy days, but that lids for green recycling boxes were available from the authority free of charge.

Chair of the committee, Cllr Dorothy Long added: “Our staff have worked hard to resolve problems as quickly as possible and we are pleased that the number of complaints has fallen significantly in the last three months.”

One resident who complained was Darlington mother, Ashleigh Pollock. She said: “Whenever I put the recycling out, they don’t collect it and it’s been going on for months.

“They haven’t collected it for the last six weeks and it’s stressing me out as I have children and am overrun with rubbish.”

A council spokeswoman said: “Ms Pollock has contacted us about recycling collections, however, we have not been able to collect her recycling on several occasions as it has been contaminated – this means that recycling has been put in the wrong containers. Stickers advising why recycling was not collected were put on the bin each time.

“It’s important that the right materials are put in the right containers, otherwise our contractor will not accept the recycling we collect. We’re happy to meet with Ms Pollock and talk her through what can and can’t be recycled under the revised weekly collection scheme.”