WASTE collectors refused to take away an Exmouth man’s rubbish – because his bin lid was left open by no more than 10cm.

WASTE collectors refused to take away an Exmouth man’s rubbish – because his bin lid was left open by no more than 10cm.

Retired serviceman Tony Slough, of Masey Road, has hit out at East Devon District Council’s waste policy after collectors turned a blind eye to his landfill rubbish last week.

Mr Slough, who now works as a as a military provost guard, returned home to find a ‘sorry’ label on his black bin, outlining reasons why his waste was not taken away.

It said his rubbish was not collected because it was unsafe to empty.

He could understand them not taking it away to prevent any injuries if the bins were being moved around.

But, the 49-year-old, whose property is elevated away from the roadside, added: “We do not have to take our bins to the road.

“The collectors come up to our house and take the bags out from the inside and then to their lorry.

“If my bin was stacked with rubbish I could also understand it, but the lid was only left marginally open. It is completely barmy.”

East Devon District Council started a new waste collection service last October.

The service, which entails collections from residents’ kerbside, applies to food waste, dry recyclable and landfill waste.

Mr Slough added: “It is not the dustmen’s fault. They are just following procedure – it is down to the council. My bin now won’t be emptied for two weeks.

“It is wrong, particularly when you think there is Christmas just around the corner and people will be collecting a lot of rubbish. We pay a lot of council tax and for what?

“There must be hundreds of people who are getting these ‘sorry’ labels.”

A spokesperson for East Devon District Council said since the new collection regime started, residents have been made aware that it was a kerbside service and containers should be on or near the footway.

“If a resident has made an informal arrangement with an individual crew that they will collect refuse from inside a wheeled bin that is not at the kerbside, then the crews are not empowered to make such arrangements,” the spokesperson explained.

“This is to ensure that crews can complete rounds in the allotted time and are also able to make ‘assisted collections’ where these have been formally requested by people who are infirm or disabled.

“Any informal or unofficial arrangement will only last as long as the same crew is covering that round. As soon as a new crew comes on the scene they will clearly not know about informal arrangements and will, as they should do, follow normal procedures.”