Beware the Green Bin scam

Residents of West Wiltshire should be aware of a scam which is operating in our area.

When the old West Wiltshire District Council introduced a free garden waste collection system it gave households big (240 litre) green bins. If you've signed up to the new Wiltshire Council collection for which you pay £40 per year, and if your bin breaks or needs replacing, you'll be given a little bin (180 litre) in its place, for which you'll still be charged £40. If you complain that it's not big enough the council will provide you with a second little bin - but will charge you another £40 to empty it.

The council has deliberately not put this information on the website because, it says, people would find the fact that there are two different bin sizes 'confusing'.

The council also claims that reducing the size of the bins without reducing the price is, "not due to a decision to obtain additional income."

I suspect if any other business behaved like this they'd have trading standards after them!