A GROUP of residents in Padiham are calling for recycling bins to replace their "totally inadequate" boxes.

The Stonemoor Bottom Residents' Group has been appealing to Burnley Council for several months to introduce blue recycling wheelie bins because they say the boxes do not keep the rubbish inside.

Group chairman Ann Bartlett said: "If the council wants us to recycle they've got to get their act together.

"Giving us a flimsy box which is only emptied once a fortnight is just inadequate.

"The lids are often blown off and the contents spill out, and when we had the storms this week, entire boxes were flying everywhere. They do not contain the rubbish, and it must be costing the council extra money because staff have to go round picking up the rubbish from the streets."

Last week councillors in Worsthorne threatened to issue Burnley Council with fixed penalty notices after claiming the waste contractors Biffa was leaving the village in a mess.

Helen Ryder, rethinking waste officer for Burnley Council, said: "Using the recycling boxes allows the waste collection teams to check them clearly for any contamination with non-recyclable materials.

"Using a wheelie bin would make this important task virtually impossible to carry out. However, if residents do need additional boxes for their recyclable waste we would be happy to supply them. We would ask them to contact us to request one if this is the case."

Mrs Bartlett, of Lancaster Drive, said: "I don't accept the reason about checking for contaminating materials because we have brown wheelie bins for garden waste and the same could apply to those. I'm sure the whole borough is suffering from this, not just us.

"We are warned that strong storms will be a lot more frequent and severe, so it's time it was sorted."

A council spokesman added: "As part of our work with the new waste contractor from April we will be looking to adapt our waste collections policy to accommodate the needs of individual properties where appropriate. For example, terraced streets will receive collections from the rear of their properties."