THE bosses of a company which runs recycling waste collection services have moved to reassure residents amid a chaotic start to a new regime.

Homeowners across the borough of Barrow have voiced their frustration and confusion after FCC Environment failed to empty their garden waste wheelie bins.

The disappointment was compounded by the fact residents must now pay an annual fee of £35 to have their green waste taken away.

FCC chiefs said last night that they had been taken aback by demand for the service.

A spokesman said: "Based on the rate of take up in other parts of the UK, we had planned for some 3,000 registrations but we are at closer to 5,000 already which just shows how popular recycling is in the area.

"We would like to thank the residents of Barrow for this level of support.

"Because of this, we have had to look daily at the routes and timings of our vehicles as more people are joining every day and routes need to change to reflect this."

Some homeowners were uncertain when their bins were due to be collected, although others said theirs had been dealt with as expected.

FCC – which was appointed by Barrow Borough Council to carry out waste collections on its behalf – has apologised for the rocky start to the new service.

Residents have been advised to leave their green waste bins out for collection along with any additional waste which will be collected during a 'settling-in' period.

More bin wagons have been drafted in to meet the higher-than-expected demand.

The spokesman added: "The garden waste club has been incredibly popular.

"Rest assured though, we have the technology to do this quickly and we have brought in more vehicles to meet the demand.

"We are confident that we now have everything in place to deliver the service and that everything will work as it should going forward.

"We would like to assure residents that their green bins will be collected, bins should be left out until we come for them, excess green waste can be left be in black bins to the side and we will take it at no extra charge during this period.

"But mainly we would like to thank residents for their commitment to making this scheme work and for their patience while the scheme rolls out.

"Also, as further reassurance, We know which customers have subscribed so even if the stickers haven’t arrived we will still collect on the specified day. Please present the bins and they will be collected at some point during the day."