A SOUTHAMPTON man has criticised the council's recycling scheme after his bins were left unemptied for nearly two months.

John Milner, who lives in Frederick Street in Newtown, says his block of flats has been ignored on the last three fortnightly collection days.

And despite reassurances from a city council inspector, he remains unconvinced that the situation will change when the refuse collectors next visit.

He said: "The cart does not even come down our road. It's like they're missing us because of the layout of the streets.

"It is just a little bit inconvenient for them and I'm convinced it's laziness on their part.

"Some of us are having to take our recycling away by hand. Why are we paying all this council tax?"

Since his recycling bins were last emptied eight weeks ago, Mr Milner says he has made a number of attempts to register the missing rounds - each time receiving a different response.

He said: "The first time, I was told it was just a missed collection. The second time they said it was because the bins were too full so we took a load out just to make sure it was level. The third time we were told it was because there were carrier bags in the bins. We went through the rubbish and could not find any.

"Any contact we have had has been through the council's Action Line. But it is more of an Actionless Line."

In a statement, the council said it was committed to increasing the rate of recycling for the city and that residents had the right to expect a quality service.

A spokesman said: "There appears to have been some confusion over this case and our staff have now visited Mr Milner's property to resolve the issue.

"Residents should contact Action Line if they have any problems with waste and recycling collection. The number is 0800 519 1919."