REGARDING the letter from Ian Spencer and the difficulties he has encountered with his wheelie bin.

We acknowledge our failure to deliver his second bin, which has now been remedied. But the main thrust of the letter refers to the council removing waste from the bin and leaving in on the kerbside.

Over-filled bins represent two forms of problem from the council's point of view. The first relates to the ability of the clamping mechanism on the lifting equipment on the vehicle. Over-filled bins prevent the safe clamping of the bin to the lifting mechanism and therefore safe loading to the vehicle, giving rise to the risk of the bin falling from the hoist.

The second problem relates to the health and safety of the crew, the public and users of the highway. As well as the difficulties in clamping, over-filled bins create a significant risk to the motorist and pedestrians from waste falling from the bin onto the highway or the footpath.

The council takes its responsibilities towards service delivery seriously and in considering this aspect health and safety is of paramount importance. The council therefore took the view that it will not collect bins that are over-full, which in this instance means where the lid is open more than 45 degrees.

Clearly the combination of the failure to deliver this bin and the collector adhering to council policy has in this instance caused a problem to the family for which we apologise.

Having said that, I should also point that because of the increasing problem of landfill sites, the Government's policy is to reduce domestic waste by two per cent in the coming year. By collecting every fortnight and by discouraging side waste we are all made to think carefully about the was we generate. And there is strong evidence from the Continent that such a policy does reduce the waste stream. Part of that policy is to discourage the collecting of side waste.

This is all very new to us all and it is evident from Mr Spencer's letter he is keen to support the new waste collection system. I must thank him for that and hope this unfortunate experience will, not discourage him or any other resident in the district in the future.

Councillor Brian Fuller

Cabinet minister/

environmental health

Bromsgrove District Council