You've bin shamed

Thousands of wheelie bins have been held in storage since last year - at a cost to taxpayers of £1,000 a week - while councillors decide what to do with them.

The 15,000 bins are the first half of an order placed by Wear Valley District Council, in County Durham, after it reviewed its waste collection and recycling schemes.

The council agreed a £560,000 deal with Otto Environmental Systems for 30,000 twin wheelie bins, nicknamed tweelies.

The twin bin scheme included proposals to switch from weekly to fortnightly rounds - collecting landfill waste one week and recyclables the next.

Labour councillors, who were then in the majority, say they had the full backing of all members when they agreed the move at a succession of meetings between 2005 and last year.

But Liberal Democrats and Independent councillors withdrew their support for the scheme ahead of last year's district elections.

The authority became a hung council last May, so the plans were put on hold.

As officers had already ordered 15,000 twin bins, they had to take delivery of them and they went into storage on farmland near Crook.

The bins are now understood to have been in storage for about a year as the parties have failed to agree what to do with them.

Labour members say the Uturn by Lib Dems was purely to score points with voters.

David Kingston, former chairman of community services, said: "All Lib Dems and Independents voted for this.

"Shortly after, they campaigned in the local elections against the £560,000 programme that they had voted for.

"Voting for the bins has committed public money and it is a scandal that someone should play so fast and so loose with public money, especially when the environment is such a pressing issue."

He said a lack of landfill sites in the region made twin bins a desperate necessity.

Liberal Democrats took control of the council earlier this month, after gaining the support of Independent members, and the issue remains unresolved.

The former deputy leader, Labour councillor Charlie Kay, said: "Lib Dems and Independent members backed us unanimously, but they changed their minds so they could campaign on the issue.

"We spent 12 months trying to resolve the situation, but now they have to sort it out.

"With power comes responsibility and they cannot just let ten months of the council's life run out so it becomes someone else's problem."

Labour councillor for Bishop Auckland Barbara Laurie said if members could not resolve their differences, they risked wasting more money and spoiling a previously good record on environmental issues.

She said: "We need the twin bin system to meet central government targets. It would be a terrible shame if the authority was brought down on this point."

Newly elected leader of the council, Liberal Democrat Tommy Taylor, contradicted Labour's version of events.

He said the Lib Dems did not agree to switch from weekly to fortnightly collections, because there were widely publicised fears that household waste not collected for two weeks could attract rats and become a health hazard.

He said they had inherited the problems from a previously Labour-controlled authority.

He said: "They are pointing the finger at us because of sour grapes.

"Labour pushed for this and we have always said that we have nothing against the bins, but strongly oppose fortnightly collections.

"The bins were bought when Labour were in control and, if they had the full support they claim they had, they would have been out at homes by now.

"This has only come to light now they have lost control.

"It is a complex issue and, as one of the grounds on which we were elected was to oppose fortnightly rubbish collections, we have to consider our action carefully - to put them out would be a direct change of policy."

Coun Taylor said he could not resolve the situation until he consulted with his party at a meeting on Thursday.

Coun Vince Perkins, chairman of community services, said: "We accept that the twin bins, recycling and the environment need to be dealt with as a priority."