WILTSHIRE Council has been left red faced by a green bin blunder that has seen it having to reissue nearly 1,500 of the new collection stickers after complaints that they were not sticky enough.

The new paid-for garden waste collection service came into force at the start of last week and saw around 67,000 households sign up for the £40-a year scheme.

David Rae, 57, of Forest Road, Melksham, is just one of 1,390 residents who have received a faulty sticker and believes the mistake has made Wiltshire Council look silly.

“It’s funny that all the trouble they have gone to and no one has actually tested the sticker," he said.

“It stuck on very nicely at first but it washed off when it rained. It is a problem as it is peeling off the backing. I have had to put the sticker in a plastic wallet to keep it waterproof and stick it to the bin with tape.

“The stickers are how the bins get identified by the bin men in emptying them. I imagine that a lot of people put their bins out ready for collection and when the bin men come and open it their sticker will go out with all their gardening waste as well.

Mr Rae, who is a former material scientist, received the sticker last week but after only a day of placing it on his green bin, it washed off following rain. He added that he is in no doubt that others are likely to be affected and as he fills his bin every fortnight he hopes a solution is found soon.

“I’ve contacted the council but I haven’t heard anything from them about my complaint,” said Mr Rae.

“I am sure they will get more phone calls and I think the problem is that because there are so many people who need to get new stickers they haven’t been able to answer them. The just haven’t issued any notice about what they are going to do."

Wiltshire Council confirmed this week that it will be reissuing the stickers in the next couple of days with the suppliers forking out the bill.

A spokesperson added: “We are aware that a small number of customers have had a problem with the adhesiveness of stickers as a result of a small batch of the stickers being potentially faulty.

“We have re-issued 1,390 replacement stickers for a variety of reasons; sticker wouldn’t peel off from the letter cleanly (and ripped), sticker has become de-laminated, sticker has become water damaged, sticker has come off bin.

“This represents 2.9 per cent of the 48,000 stickers sent out in phase one.

"If you are experiencing problems with your sticker, please email wastemanagement@wiltshire.gov.uk or call us on 0300 456 0102 and we will issue a replacement sticker. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”