MAGGOT-FILLED bins, fly-tipping and dangerous traffic levels on a busy Witley road have emerged as shocking side-effects of Waverley Borough Council's fortnightly rubbish collections. The revelations came during the public question time at Tuesday night's executive meeting, when councillors were handed a 1,000-signature petition signed by Milford and Witley residents asking for weekly collections to be reinstated. They were also told how Witley tip was becoming so overwhelmed by the area's home owners dumping excess rubbish that traffic levels on Petworth Road have become dangerous. But despite the protests, the council is backing the scheme. The authority says it believes alternate weekly collections (AWCS) - collecting rubbish one week and recyclables the next - has been responsible for a dramatic reduction in the amount of rubbish going to landfill sites. Jenny Methold, who organised the petition, told the meeting: "There is a great deal of strong feeling among people regarding the collections and a lot of people have problems with the recycling process. "The facilities provided for recycling are poor considering the idea is to increase recycling, and the tips are overflowing with fly-tipping." After the meeting she told The Herald: "I have spoken to so many people who are appalled at having to clean maggots from their bins and put up with foul smells." She said she wanted weekly collections brought back, as well as an increase in the number of places where people could recycle. While Mrs Methold was complaining about the state of the bins, two Petworth Road residents were keen to highlight the dangers of the overuse of the tip. Jack Lee told the meeting: "The last few weekends have seen very many near- misses, with cars waiting to turn into the dump. "One car parked outside the entrance to the dump and obscured everyone's view. At some stage there will be an accident." Another Petworth Road resident said that in an effort to reduce the number of waste disposal trucks driving round the borough, the council had merely forced more cars onto the roads to drive to local tips. However, Farnham councillor Vic Scrivens defended the scheme, saying it was working "quite well". He admitted that the traffic problems were a concern, and said the council was looking into increasing the amount of rubbish the site could take. He added it was the job of Surrey County Council and the police to sort out many of the traffic problems. Mr Scrivens added: "We are very sympathetic to the issues going on there [at Witley tip]. It is ridiculous that you can't get out of your own drive, and that is a police issue." However, he told the people complaining about maggot infestation to ensure all containers were washed out thoroughly, and suggested they buy a powder to kill the maggots. He also refused to say the scheme was not working, despite the number of people who were unhappy with it. "This is a system that is working," he said. He said 500 tonnes more waste is being recycled now than at this time last year, with 32 per cent of the borough's rubbish being reused, compared to 20 per cent last year. After running through the statistics which, he claimed, show the scheme is working, Mr Scrivens told the public gallery: "This is all thanks to the people of Waverley." The words sparked a shaking of heads in the public gallery. Chairman Gillian Ferguson summed up by saying: "It is very reassuring to know we are achieving something. However, the details of the side-effects are something we need to pay attention to."

l Waverley's bin problem made the Daily Mail this week, when columnist Richard Littlejohn slammed the council's handling of one woman's complaint. The column claimed that when the resident called to ask what she should do with the carcase from her evening's chicken meal because she had two weeks until her next bin collection, she was told to either freeze it or not to eat chicken or fish so soon after collection.