AS Bolton Council starts to roll out its controversial slim-bin changeover some residents have reported incidents of old bins being left in the middle of the road.

The authority has started the long process of swapping people’s 240 litre grey waste bins for smaller 140 litre versions as it looks to cut costs and boost recycling rates.

The switch-over represents a huge logistical challenge and will be carried out over the next four months — with the majority of households in the town being visited.

The project started last week and while the council said that overall things are going smoothly — some residents have not been impressed.

Peter Robinson, of Martin Avenue, Farnworth, contacted The Bolton News to complain about issues with the swapping of bins in his area.

He said: “Our old dustbin was emptied as usual and we were informed that the old bin would be collected and a new small bin delivered on the same day.

“The new bin was delivered to the front door and the old bin had its wheels and lid removed and was stacked with all the others residents' bins in a huge pile. These were then left abandoned in the middle of the road for more than 26 hours.”

He said several residents were forced to push the stacked bins to one side to allow vehicles to access the area.

He added: “Ours is not the only street to suffer this illegal act of waste dumping."

Cllr Nick Peel, the council’s executive cabinet member for the environment said he was aware of some issues with the scheme but said the major logistical operation was largely going well.

He said: “We have already transferred thousands of bins and while things are generally going very smoothly, there are bound to be odd incidents where mistakes are made or things are missed. We have a contractor collecting and delivering bins all across the borough and we have spoken to them to avoid any incidents of stacked bins being left behind in the future.”

He added: “We are learning lessons as we go along but I am pleased to say that we are already seeing the take-up of recycling bins going up and that is exactly what we wanted.”