A WASTE management company is picking up the pieces following the introduction of fortnightly bin collections.

Since Colchester Council changed the recycling and waste scheme last week, there have been 600 reports of missed collections.

CSH Environmental, based in Wormingford, said residents had been turning to them to collect missed bags.

The new council scheme allows a maximum of three black bags collected fortnightly with recycling collected on alternate weeks and food waste every week.

Paul Gregory, from CSH Environmental, said it was not enough. He said: “We have had a few households asking if we can supply a bin collection for them, it’s an easy fix.

“There’s going to be more litter problems, more flytipping and for households with three kids they just won’t cope.

“It will have a knock-on effect as tips are going to be inundated with people dropping off rubbish.”

The company, which deals with industrial and commercial waste, said it would supply bins and empty them depending on residents’ needs.

Mr Gregory said: “People can organise a schedule to accommodate with the council, and we will do alternate weeks with them. We will collect the rubbish and it will come back here for recycling.

“It will be sorted and sent off to merchants where it is reconstituted into other things.”

He said residents will not have to separate their recyclables, as it is done at the depot.

But it does come at a cost depending on the size of the bin and the number of collections.

Resident Kirstie Oxlade, of Francis Way, said it should not need to come to hiring a private company.

Her week-old black bags, containing nappies and animal waste, are covered in maggots.

She said: “We have three children, my youngest is 18 months, and we have one dog.

“The recycling doesn’t bother me, but the black bins not being picked up weekly is disgusting.

“Hiring a private company would surely cost us more money on top of our council tax.I would like either black bags to be picked up weekly or the whole of Colchester to be given wheelie bins.”

Colchester Council said it was unaware of plans by some residents to employ a private contractor.

A spokesman added: “It is still too early, at this stage, to provide figures on recycling rates. We will have comparative figures once we have gone through a couple of full cycles with the recycling and residual waste collections, which are now fortnightly.”

To find out more about CHS Environmental, visit cshenvironmental.co.uk