OLDER and disabled people are finding Denbighshire's new recycling system physically difficult to work with as the scheme comes under renewed fire.

The issues have been raised by RAF veteran Mark Smith after he approached Denbighshire County Council to express his concerns, only to be directed to the information leaflet sent to all residents.

Mr Smith, 64, lives with a chronic back issue. His wife has mobility issues since overcoming cancer.

They live in rural Llangollen and had no problem complying with the previous recycling system. The new one however is more physical demanding according to Mr Smith.

"The Trolibocs is heavy and cumbersome," he said. "We have to pull our bins about 35 yards over gravel to put them out.

"The old system was not a problem, the bins were easy to move and it all made sense.

"But these new bins are proving incredibly difficult to manage with the physical challenges we both have."

Mr Smith also challenged how the system was operating after revealing he had been left to clean up rubbish in the street because it was left to blow around when rejected by bin collection staff.

"They sort through the boxes on the van and return anything that is in the wrong box to you in your Trolibocs," he said.

"However, when they do that a lot of the returned rubbish falls loose and we are left to pick it up from the road, which again is a physical challenge for us.

"It seems to me that if they are sorting the rubbish on site anyway it should surely be possible for the person sorting to simply deposit waste into a container to be included in the correct process at the recycling centre rather than returned to residents."

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Mr Smith said he believed the latest issue around residents who require additional support seems to be countywide.

"My brother-in-law is 70 and lives in Corwen," he said.

"He has physical and mental health challenges and he simply finds this new system too complex. Some plastic, like crisp packets or clingfilm, isn't plastic and is rejected, everything needs to be washed or it is rejected. He cannot work out all the nuances of it so he simply puts everything in general waste to go to landfill.

"That is surely not the goal of Denbighshire County Council."

Mr Smith did write to Cllr Peter Scott, Chairman of Denbighshire County Council, to raise his concerns. He admitted the roll-out had been a 'shambles' and directed Mr Smith to the leaflet detailing the new recycling arrangements that went to all residents but did not highlight any additional support.

"It's simply not good enough," said Mr Smith. "I support recycling but the system needs to be manageable for residents. Denbighshire County Council are palming off their work and responsibilities to residents to save money and what are we getting in return?"

A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council said: "The council offers an assisted collection service which helps people who are physically unable to move their bins to the kerbside collection point.

"Residents can apply for an assisted collection via the council’s website or by contacting the customer service team. This service includes our waste operatives collecting the bins from a more convenient agreed outside space, which is closer and more accessible to the homeowner e.g. outside the back door, or down at the start of the drive, instead of a kerbside collection.

"The Trolibocs units include images on each individual box, along with wording to mark which item should be placed in which corresponding box to make the process as simple as possible for residents. More detailed information can be found in the booklet that was delivered to residents, along with their Trolibocs unit. This information can also be found online.

"We would ask that residents who have persistent issues with the service please contact the council’s helpline on 01824 706000 and we will assign someone to look at the case individually in more detail to see how we can help further."