OVER-FLOWING wheelie-bins have been stacking up outside homes in the district after cancelled collections left some residents waiting up to four weeks for their waste to be taken away.

A number of householders in Princes Road, Buckhurst Hill, had their black bin collections cancelled over Christmas due to the icy weather, and some have been waiting over 20 days for their rubbish to be taken away.

Carole Fenton, 63, of Princes Road, said: “The black bins were meant to be collected last Tuesday but due to adverse weather conditions nothing was collected at all. They were supposed to be collecting them as well this week. We're now running 23 day since it was collected. It's disgusting.

“They've taken the green bins and the blue boxes but still not the black bins. Mine's full up. I'm on my own but my neighbours have put stuff in mine because theirs is over-flowing. Across the road they've got piles of stuff.”

Residents have been told they must wait until January 7 for their next black bin collection- nearly four weeks since they were last picked up.

Carol Taylor, 61, of Princes Road said: “I know there was adverse weather conditions but why couldn't they collect them today? What's more of a problem is people didn't know when they were going to collect them so they've left all the bins out on the road.

“It was a right mess out here. We had food recycling, waste paper recycling, and black bins out. We couldn't walk up the road.”

Porfolio holder for environment councillor Mary Sartin said: "The council is very sorry for the difficulties which have arisen during the period 22 December 2009 through Christmas and the New Year.

"The past few weeks have seen an unfortunate combination of snow, ice and the normal changes to collection frequencies over the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

"The Council's Waste Officers and Sita's collection crews have done their very best to maintain services under very difficult, and sometimes very dangerous, circumstances."