PEOPLE have expressed outrage after they saw their recycled rubbish being binned alongside household waste.

After reading an article in your Worcester News which said the council has a legal right not to collect household recycling if it is contaminated, Sally Coleshill, a resident of Harvey Walk in Rainbow Hill, Worcester, could not believe her eyes when she saw the council bin men doing just that.

She said: "I think it is disgraceful they say it is their legal right not to collect contaminated bins, but they have just contaminated our rubbish. Everyone tries really hard to recycle and this is what they do."

Recycling from the 16 homes in the cul-de-sac was not taken away on the normal collection day. Residents were not given a reason, but told it would be collected on their next collection day.

"When they came they put the black bins and green bins in the same wagon," said 43-year-old Mrs Coleshill.

"When we put something in the wrong bin they refuse to take it. Just because they were behind they put it in one wagon."

Worcester City Council said it could not comment on individual cases but stated over the Christmas period about 100 out of 80,000 bins were not collected when they should have been. The council attributed this to the increased amount of rubbish generated, which meant rubbish trucks filled up quicker and needed to be emptied more frequently.

Mike Harrison, head of cleaner and greener at the council, said: "The solution is to continue to work on ensuring that we do not miss bins in the first place - and this is being currently followed up via a business process review exercise."