A COUNCILLOR is spearheading a ‘road trip’ to tackle issues caused by changes to rural bin collections.

Cllr Adrian Naylor will take Bradford Council cleansing officers on a fact-finding mission to outlying areas of his Craven ward.

He wants to show the officers at first-hand the problems faced by farmers and other rural residents in placing their bins where refuse wagons can collect them.

Cllr Naylor said many houses on narrow country roads could not safely put out their bins on collection day because they had no pavement or grass verge.

He claimed some residents would have to travel up to eight miles to a council waste tip because the council no longer collected recycling at the same time as normal waste.

Cllr Naylor spoke out after the council, forced to make savings due to government cuts, had made changes to bin collections from harder-to-reach homes.

Outlying properties used to be part of the council’s rural waste collection routes, with normal waste and recycling picked up by one flatbed truck. Residents now have to use large wheeled bins, with rubbish picked up by the council’s bigger 26-tonne refuse wagons.

In most areas of the district, the council alternates fortnightly collections of household waste and recycling.

The issue in rural areas was highlighted this month at by Oxenhope Parish Council, whose members are received many complaints about the changes.

Cllr Naylor, whose ward includes Silsden, Steeton and Addingham, claimed no councillors representing rural wards had been consulted before the changes were brought in.

He said: “We don’t have convenient spots to locate bins – they can be a mile from the property. There aren’t any turning circles for the vans.

“The council suggested people drive down to a recycling service, but this can be eight miles and it’s not practical. These residents are paying for a collection service.

“I’ve asked for officers in the cleansing department to go round the Craven ward. I’ll show them real-life problems and we can look at how we can solve them.”

Cllr Naylor said one industrial-sized bin have been left half in the road because there was not enough verge, while another became stuck in mud at the roadside.