COLCHESTER Council bosses have hit back after claims they were failing residents by stockpiling 180,000 black bin bags instead of giving them out to the public.

In June, Colchester Council launched its new waste strategy which saw an end to residents being given free black bin bags.

But newly-elected Shrub End councillor Vic Flores raised concerns over the authority’s plans and said the council was selling residents short by not offering up the last of the bags to be used by community groups or the borough’s most in-need households.

The Conservative member said: “The council has spent a lot of money on wheelie bins and the issue is that residents of Colchester aren’t getting the service they deserve - nobody is getting these black bin bags anymore and plenty of people now have wheelie bins who don’t want them.

“There are 180,000 of them [bags] there so I’m not saying they should give them out because it would only be one per household, but why not give them to people perhaps most in need or to community groups?

“That would much better than just leaving them sitting at tip to waste.”

A Colchester Council spokesman accepted the sacks are being stored at the tip but said there is a plan to use them.

He said: “We can confirm that just over 4,000 rolls, amounting to approximately 180,000 individual black bags, are currently stockpiled at the Shrub End depot.

“This is typically the case – with the bags being used for various tasks within the waste service and the zones teams, including clearing litter and council properties when they become void.”

He added: “This stock is a result of the annual order made in 2016 – before the council ceased providing black bags to residents – which were retained for new-build properties.

“These bags will be used throughout the year and no more will be purchased until they are used up.”

The spokesman also confirmed no black bin bags have been bought in the 2017/18 financial year.

Figures show the new waste strategy has resulted in a 58 per cent cut in the amount of black sack waste collected across the borough compared to last year.

Recycling is also on the up with the average amount of household waste dropping to 21kg in July compared to 34kg per in July 2016.

But Mr Flores said: “There are two sides to everything.

“What is more important is looking at the number of black sacks which are not being handled by Colchester Council because people are taking to dumping their own black sacks.”