A BAN on "side-waste" bags being added to wheelie bins is coming to Redcar and Cleveland.

Coun Bob Stanway, cabinet member for environmental improvement, made this clear at the annual assembly of Saltburn, Marske and New Marske Parish Council, when 16 members of the public questioned the new waste collection scheme.

"One of the mistakes we made was that we had a relaxed attitude to additional bags of waste being put out," he said at the White House, Marske, on Tuesday night.

"People have got used to putting out side-waste. Middlesbrough Council said no to the practice. That is the way we shall go."

Simon Dale, area management director, defended the recent change to bins being collected on alternate weeks instead of weekly.

He forecast that Hambleton, Middlesbrough and Darlington would follow.

"We needed to reduce costs. Incinerating is much cheaper than landfilling. We get penalised the more we landfill."

Mr Dale replied to complaints about some large families not getting jumbo bins for refuse. The policy was, he said, that if six people lived in a house, they would get a large bin.

If someone contacted his department with a problem he could carry out a waste audit - and he promised they would "not wander through your waste". Sometimes this uncovered "interesting situations" like business waste being put in bins.

"Some people have two Great Danes or rabbits and a lot of animal waste is created. If it is genuine, that could be a criteria for a larger bin."

Coun Jim Wingham, a Saltburn parish councillor, praised the borough council's information and consultation exercise with local organisations over the new scheme, which involves householders separating bottles, newspapers, plastic and garden rubbish from household waste.

His concern was people leaving bins outside their property because this encouraged anti-social behaviour on Friday and Saturday nights.

Mr Dale said: "This is a headache. People should bring their bins in. The council could fine them, but we don't want to."

Coun John Coulthard, of Marske, suggested the four district councils should look at building a second incinerator even though the present one was having its capacity increased.

He said it cost more to recycle plastic bottles than to make new ones.