An MP has “trashed” a district council’s “mishandling” of a new recycling service.

Norman Baker has called on Wealden District Council to clear up problems with its recycling scheme which has left thousands of households with rubbish on their doorsteps.

The MP said problems remained six weeks after the introduction of the new contract – despite reassurances from the council.

Kier Environmental Service launched a waste collection service in Wealden and Eastbourne on July 22.

Unhappy residents have reported bins becoming “maggot-infested” because of missed collections.

Mr Baker said: “It is simply unacceptable that weeks after problems were identified, local residents are still facing problems with their bin collection.

“It has been many weeks since the changeover and my constituents in Polegate and Alfriston have seen little improvement in their situation.

Struggling “Furthermore, the many complaints this issue is producing daily have now clogged up many of the means of contact with Wealden and this is leading to further problems as residents struggle to have other issues addressed.”

Bob Standley, leader of Wealden District Council, said: “We have apologised to residents affected and increased staffing within the contact centre to improve response times.

“They will improve further when the waste collection performance returns to the previously satisfactory level.”

Kier Environmental apologised that a number of households were had not received a good service.

Managing director Nicola Peake said: “The primary reason is the collection teams familiarising themselves with new vehicles and new rounds.

“While improvements have been made since these changes, we accept that further improvement is still required.

“Where appropriate we have and will continue to increase front-line resources.

“We have also increased the number of back-office staff to support the stabilisation process.”