Hundreds of calls

Recycling problems laid bare by report

THE scale of problems which plagued Dundee’s controversial new recycling scheme can be laid bare for the first time today.

More than 1,700 people lodged complaints in the space of just a few weeks after the start of the new bins rollout earlier this summer, as a series of problems cropped up.

Just after its introduction, council staff were receiving 447 calls every day relating to the rollout.

Some of those then went unanswered due to an “unknown system error” which meant calls were not redirected to the right place.

Many residents were also left in the dark about what the new scheme meant for them — after a supplier failed to print leaflets on time.

And after the council had ordered about 900 Eurobin containers for distribution to people living in flats, only 174 had been delivered by the supplier in time.

A further 201 were delivered the following week – by which time the scheme had gone live – with more than 400 others arriving between July 3 and July 28, “well after the implementation date”.

Despite making “numerous” calls and sending several emails to the supplier, the council was unable to confirm the bin types being delivered and when, which made planning for delivery of the containers “difficult”.

Some 1,800 properties even had early collections missed during the latest rollout following a revision of bin lorry routes.

The details were revealed in a new report to councillors on the recycling