A KIDDERMINSTER resident fears householders in Wyre Forest are not getting value for money through the new kerbside recycling service.

Robin Pearson, of Habberley Road, contacted Wyre Forest District Council to find out how much was being spent on the new scheme, introduced across the county in 2004.

He discovered the service, which sees residents distribute their waste into two separate boxes for their waste, whether plastic and glass bottles or paper materials, was costing taxpayers £1.1million a year.

Mr Pearson also feared the kerbside collection, currently carried out on a weekly basis, might change to once a fortnight.

He said: "The upshot of it is that the council taxpayer must pay £1.1million a year for this scheme and yet they see no benefit from it. I think it's important that people know exactly what their money is being spent on."

The district council's head of cultural, commercial and leisure services, Andrew Dickens, said the Government had set all local authorities recycling targets that must be met to reduce rubbish going to landfill.

The council was required to recycle 18 per cent or face heavy fines from the Government.

He added: "It is the long-term aim to introduce a uniform scheme across the county. It's a vision to introduce a fortnightly kerbside recycling service and fortnightly refuse collection scheme. However, there is no date fixed and it is not planned in Wyre Forest in the near future.

"We have to aim to reduce waste as, basically, there are not enough holes in the world to keep filling. We're close to our EU recycling target of 30 per cent and we're the best authority for recycling in Worcestershire."