ECO-CONSCIOUS residents trying to do their recycling this week were met with overflowing bins in Bradford on Avon.

Ann Phelps, of Broadmead in Trowbridge, went to drop off her cardboard at the recycling bins at Sainsbury's on the Elm Cross Shopping Centre, but found them full to bursting and surrounded by piles of cardboard boxes.

She said: "Does this really encourage people to recycle? I have been there on a Friday and it's full before the weekend, when most people do their recycling.

"I really feel they need to be emptied twice a week."

Last year Bradford on Avon residents complained about the state of the recycling bins in the Station Road car park, which were regularly full to bursting.

A spokesman for Hills Waste, which manages the recycling bins on behalf of West Wiltshire District Council, said the bins are cleared six days a week, alternating between plastic and cardboard collections.

She added: "The reason the bins are overflowing is partly due to the fact that approximately 25 per cent of the waste is being placed there unlawfully by commercial outlets that are not prepared to pay for waste disposal services.

"In an attempt to alleviate the problem, Hills are now looking into introducing additional weekend collections and West Wiltshire District Council has enforcement officers that are trained to monitor sites in an effort to apprehend those disposing of waste illegally."