EAST HAMPSHIRE District CouncilÕs beleaguered waste contractors are facing fines of at least £35,000 after a disastrous start to the new refuse collection system.

In the first week of the new system the district council switchboard was jammed with householders ringing to complain that their dustbins had not been collected.

And three weeks later the council was still receiving complaints from residents in Liss, Bramshott Chase, Hammer and Griggs Green.

This week council leader Elizabeth Cartwright announced that under a default clause in EHDCÕs contract with Onyx, the contractors would be fined for every bin not collected.

Mrs Cartwright told Liss parish councillors this week that Onyx had promised to catch up with the service and have the collection system running smoothly by the beginning of July.

ÒThere was no logic in the collection rounds and so I understand that the rounds needed to be changed, but I feel that Onyx did not put enough resources into implementing the alterations,Ó she said.

She added that there were still some residents whose bins were not being collected and Onyx would be fined for all the missed bins.

ÒWe are doing our best to get it straight and we have seconded an experienced officer to Onyx to help,Ó she said.

But Mrs Cartwright said that in fairness the World Cup had not helped the early stages of the new collection service, because she believed some waste collection staff had either arrived late or left early to catch the matches.

But the council leader said the new Alternate Waste Collection was proving a success, with householders quickly adapting to what could and could not be placed in the recycling bins.

She made a special plea to residents: ÒI am asking the public for patience. I appreciate how frustrating it has been, but please be patient, because this is going to work.Ó

Steve Bradley, spokesman for EHDC, told The Herald this week: ÒThere is a default clause in the contract which allows us to impose fines for bins not collected and so far we estimate that Onyx should be fined around £35,000.Ó

The new AWC collections are planned so that one week household refuse is collected, followed by the recyclables and garden refuse the next week.

A total of 19,000 households in Petersfield, Bramshott, Liphook, Whitehill Bordon and Grayshott started the system last month.

At the same time a further 13,000 households still operating on the old refuse collection system were supposed to be given a new fixed day for collection.

But at the start of the operation around 4000 residents were given the wrong information.

This week Onyx has taken out advertisements all over East Hampshire apologising for the problems.

In its message Onyx said it apologised Òfor the inconvenience and concern caused to residents in some parts of the district. We are doing our best to achieve as smooth a transition as possible to the new collection systems and will respond to missed collections as quickly as we can.Ó