ANGRY residents today said they are fed up with the rubbish overflowing from their bins.Householders in Riverside Road, Ipswich, said having two large wheelie bins between seven flats is simply not adequate and rats have been seen scuttling around the refuse.

ANGRY residents today said they are fed up with the rubbish overflowing from their bins.

Householders in Riverside Road, Ipswich, said having two large wheelie bins between seven flats is simply not adequate and rats have been seen scuttling around the refuse.

The residents say that as the two bins – a black one for general rubbish and a blue one for dry recyclables - are only emptied on alternate weeks, the residents are frequently left with much more general rubbish than can fit in the black wheelie bin.

This means that black bin bags full of general rubbish end up being left on the ground.

The residents say cats tear open these bin bags and that they have even seen rats.

Ipswich Borough Council says the residents need to ensure their dry recyclables are put in the blue bin, which will reduce the amount of general rubbish needing to go into the black bin.

Gennaya Peach, 21, of Riverside Road, said: "Most of my rubbish is nappies and food, which you can't recycle. After two weeks there are sometimes 20 bin bags piled up next to the bins.

"The cats rip all the bags open. At night-time we see rats where the bags have been ripped open by the cats. It's disgusting. Our children play outside and it's not very nice."

Lisa Gow, 20, of Riverside Road, who says she has also seen rats, said: "The bin men don't generally take the rubbish that is not in the bin."

Pamela Ballam, 64, of Riverside Road, added: "After the bin was emptied recently, my husband picked up the remaining rubbish and put it in the bin, which made the bin almost full again."

An Ipswich Borough Council spokesman said: "We are aware of the situation and have cleared the site. It appears that some of the residents are not using the blue bin recycling scheme correctly, which is a large part of the problem in this location.

"We have re-issued the information packs explaining the scheme to the residents and have also supplied them with clear recycling sacks to make it easier for them to collect the dry recyclable waste in their homes. These can then be placed directly into the blue bin.

"Using the blue bin correctly will reduce the amount of domestic waste that needs to be placed in the black bin. The waste bins provided should be adequate for effective recycling and should eliminate any excess waste issues and associated side effects."

What do you think about this situation? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk