Residents of a Kinross street have hit out at council “bin Karens” in a row over recycling.
Most people living on Acremoar Drive found their blue bins – which take certain paper, cans, cardboard, cartons and plastic items – unemptied on Wednesday.
The bins were also tagged with red labels, which explained why the rubbish was not taken away.
The council claims the bins had incorrect items in them.
They will now sit for a fortnight before they are emptied.
Andrew Watt, who lives on the street, told The Courier: “My rubbish, which was fine, was in a carrier bag in the bin.
“The bag is not allowed despite the fact it is plastic and recyclable.
“There are a lot of items that say they are recyclable that we cannot recycle.
“Almost the whole street was tagged. There was a sea of them.
‘There’s no reason they can’t be recycling this stuff’
“A lot off the items we cannot recycle are accepted in places like Fife.
“We pay a lot of council tax and there is no reason they can’t be recycling all that stuff.”
Residents were also delivered flyers on Thursday, explaining what should go in their blue bins.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said: “Only about four houses were not affected.
“It’s so frustrating. The only wrong item in mine was a toilet paper wrapper.
“I’ve got two kids in nappies so luckily have another general waste bin. I will need to fill that instead.”
And one man who lives on the street said: “I think we just need to be more careful with our recycling.
“However, we’ve not been given any instructions on what to do with our full bins.
“I’m going to need to go through my bin and get rid of anything and take it, and any extra rubbish, to the tip.
“We saw a lady walking around the street looking in each bin, she must be an inspector or something, but some residents have called her the ‘bin Karen’.”
Council says campaign ‘widely publicised’
In 2021 it was revealed the council had paid out about £100,000 due to the volumes of contaminated waste in the region.
The local authority told The Courier it is monitoring bins in Kinross-shire, Dunning, Forteviot and Aberuthven in a crackdown on contaminated waste.
It also says its campaign has been “widely publicised“.
A council spokesperson said: “Perth and Kinross Council is committed to improving recycling rates to tackle the climate change emergency and ensure we deliver the best value service to our residents.
“Our Stick to the Six campaign which was launched in 2021 has successfully reduced contamination in blue bins by around a third.
“This is not only better for the environment, it also means we do not have to pay additional fees to our processors that are incurred when contamination reaches certain levels.
“Whenever possible we aim to discuss recycling with householders and red tags are only used when we are unable to speak to them individually.”
Councillor Andrew Parrot, environment convener, said: “Recycling is incredibly important in tackling the climate emergency. It cuts down on emissions and protects our natural resources.
“We are determined to recycle as much as possible and I am pleased to see that people across Perth and Kinross are playing their part.”
Conversation