IT WAS meant to be a £500,000 project to help meet recycling targets but for many Blaenau Gwent residents, the local authority’s new rubbish collection system is just a wheelie stupid idea.

More than 15,000 households across the area have been given wheelie bins to put their rubbish in for fortnightly collections in a council bid to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

The idea is that because refuge won't be collected weekly anymore, it will encourage people to make full use of the weekly recycling collection instead.

15,000 homes are still to receive their bins but for many residents who have already received one, the bins are that big they are unable to get them up the steps of their homes.

A standard bin holds 240 litres.

Other households don’t have a back entrance, leading to locals having to drag the wheelie bins through their homes into their back gardens.

Sylvester Deinsah, 34, of Hafodarthen Road, Llanhilleth is one of these residents.

On collection days he takes the rubbish bags from the bin in the back through his house to the street at the front.

He said: “I struggled to get the bin through the house. I couldn’t keep it out on the pavement as it would have caused an obstruction."

“The council need to speak with the communities before they start introducing systems like this.”

Angela Evans, 50, of Commercial Road, Aberbeeg, said she had left her wheelie bin in an alley after there was nowhere else for her to put it.

She said: “If I leave it by the gate that means I can’t shut the gate but it’s a struggle to get it up the steps. I don’t use it. It’s a total waste of time and money.”

The new system has even led some residents to calling the council to take their bins back.

Elsie Dyer, 85 of Hafodarthen Road, said: “I had no choice but to tell the council to take my bin. I couldn’t bring it in through my house. I’m 85. I can’t manage that.”

Robert Jones, 42 of Blaencuffin Road, Llanhilleth, had also sent his bin back.

He said: “It was really heavy even when it was empty and if I was struggling, there is no way elderly people will be able to manage it. It’s ridiculous to have them in this area.”

Labour group leader, Hedley McCarthy said: “In their anxiety to introduce fortnightly collections, the council have brought in these wheelie bins. They have not taken into account the topography of Blaenau Gwent and how many houses have got no back entrance or nowhere to put the bins.

“People should have been consulted more and a feasibility study carried out before this scheme was introduced.”

Cllr McCarthy said he had also had reports that bins were delivered to empty shops and flats in Llanhilleth.

'All householders told about change' - council

Blaenau Gwent executive member for the environment, Cllr Keith Barnes said that the project costs worked out at around less than £20 per bin and included rent for a warehouse unit.

He said the wheelie bins were optional and smaller bins were available and that all householders had been informed about the changes and asked for requests.

He said: “We are making good progress with our improved waste collection and recycling services and these are well received by the overwhelming majority of householders.

“After bin deliveries we have had quite a few calls from householders to say they have decided they don’t need a wheeled bin. Some have asked for alternate sizes. We have followed up on those calls.

“This is a huge operation and it is inevitable that not everything will go quite right. We ask householders to get in touch with us straight away and we will call round.”

The Argus understands that the council had to pay thousands to rent a warehouse to keep the bins in before they were given out, but the council refused to comment on how much it cost.

The council was also unable to give figures of how many complaints it had received.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Wheelie bad idea

WE fully understand the nightmare faced by many residents in Blaenau Gwent since the introduction of wheelie bins last week.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this problem in South Wales.

The wheelie bins are simply incompatible with many homes in the council area.

They are just too big. They can’t be left at the front of the house on narrow pavements as they cause an obstruction.

Other residents face having to drag the bins through their homes.

The bins were introduced following the introduction of fortnightly rubbish collections as part of the drive to increase recycling rates.

But the council has become a laughing stock.

Terraced housing along steep hillsides is not unusual in South Wales.

We’d have though that councils being aware of this would have come up with a better solution.

For most it is a terrible inconvenience. For the elderly and infirm it can be a total nightmare.

We are led to believe that a lot of money has been spent on this scheme.

With that in mind then a better alternative must have been achievable.