BY XANTHE GREGORY

Lake Macquarie City Council is labelling their fortnightly bin collection service as a success, however not everyone agrees.

As a part of the council’s Food + Garden = Green initiative, red and yellow-lidded bins are collected fortnightly with green waste collection occurring weekly.

The council is flagging the changes as successful, reporting a 14% increase in green bin usage and a 1000 tonne rise in organic matter which is being saved from landfill.

But Councillor Kevin Barker is criticising the fortnightly service, following an increase of complaints from locals.

“Council claims that one-third of a bin is made up of organic food scrap, people are telling me that’s just not the case.

“I’ve spoken to families who are putting everything they can in the green bin but their red bin is still overflowing because of all the general waste that just can’t be recycled,” he says.

Cr Baker is calling for Council to bring back the weekly bin service after reports of 83 service requests for missed collections and 22 complaints regarding the changes.

“I love the organics but we really need to have a weekly bin pick-up as well,” he urges.