Thousands of wheelie bins replaced as they split apart in Solihull

Up to 10,000 recycling bins in Solihull have been replaced as they split apart.

The number of complaints has risen "dramatically" since December, the borough council said, with it sometimes receiving 100 calls a day.

The increase may be the result of recent cold weather, which can make the type of plastic used more brittle.

While the exact cause of the defect is unknown, the bins which are being rolled out as replacements are made from a different type of plastic.

The council hopes the complaints, which affects the brown bins, may now start to fall with the arrival of milder weather.

At a recent meeting, councillors were assured the local authority was working as quickly as possible to resolve the problem, although the council recently advised that it was allowing longer times to complete delivery requests.

Ade Adeyemo (Lib Dem, Lyndon) noted that while the supplier had agreed to cover the costs of the replacements, the council had to do the "leg-work" dealing with the problem and that, in conjunction with waste contractor Amey, an extra delivery crew had been put on to help cope with the backlog.

Alison Rolf, cabinet member for the environment and housing, said: "The company that have supplied them accept that there is a fault with these bins and are replacing them.

"As well… we are getting extra bins to compensate for some of the costs that we are incurring because we are having to deliver the bins out to people and collect the old ones in."

Chris Williams (Green, Chelmsley Wood) said damaged bins were visible "on every street".

"As you go round Chelmsley Wood you can see [bins] split all the way down the side and some people have used brown tape to try to put them back together," he said.

Recycling crews are starting to put stickers on damaged bins, advising that a free replacement was available.