BASILDON councillors are being urged to “bite the bullet” and ditch the “horrendous” new rubbish scheme when they debate a 2,600-strong petition.

The council will meet tomorrow to consider the impact of ditching weekly black sack collections in favour of fortnightly black bin collections following a petition to revert the changes.

Since the scheme came into force on November 27, the borough has been plagued by missed collections and piles of unsightly rubbish.

Clare Winzar, of Moretons Court, Pitsea, says the amount of rubbish lining the streets of Basildon is “just getting ridiculous”.

The 47-year-old said: “Something needs to change. They need to bite the bullet and bring back weekly collections.

“They say 30 per cent less rubbish is going to landfill. I know that because most of it’s piled up on the corner of my street.”

However, Mrs Winzar insists the scheme is not solely to blame.

She said: “I’ve got absolutely no problem with recycling. I quite like the new system. The blue and white sacks look a lot tidier than piles and piles of black sacks.

“But people are adding to the problem. We’re getting to the point where we’ve got food waste, nappies, sanitary products fly-tipped all over. It’s horrendous, and it’s getting worse.

“It’s alright for the councillors who brought the rules in, they don’t have to wade through a dirty car park on their way to work.”

From November 9 to January 8, 2,606 people signed the petition.

Environment councillor Kevin Blake has vowed to “come after” anyone found to illegally dump rubbish or fail to use the new system correctly.

He said: “In the last couple of weeks, we’ve carried out 500 assessments of dumped rubbish and are prosecuting at least ten people.

“We are going to be putting up signs and I’m still in talks with officers to install mobile CCTV to counteract it. People are fed up of fly tipping.

“We will come after whoever is illegally dumping rubbish.”