IT’S a bright and breezy Wednesday morning: bin day in Esh Winning. In Willow Road, George Taylor is preparing to walk the dog, while his wife, Christine, makes clothes for the grandchildren.

In Wood View, Terry and Ellen Glennon have an appointment to keep.

The couples’ homes are just 400m apart.

But today, the Taylors have a green bin to put out; while the Glennons have a black bin, a green bag and a green box.

Esh Winning is a village split by a bins border.

Until April 1, it was divided between the nowdefunct district councils of Derwentside and City of Durham.

Although the unitary Durham County Council has now replaced both, two months on from the shake-up the difference remains.

Hence, the Taylors and their neighbours have a blue bin for waste and a green bin for recycling, which are collected on alternate Wednesdays.

The Glennons and their neighbours have a black bin for waste, a green recycling bag for paper, cardboard and plastics and a green recycling box for glass and tins.

The waste bin is collected every Wednesday; the recycling bag and box every other.

There are mixed feelings about the set-up.

The Taylors say their fortnightly waste collection rarely causes problems – perhaps only when they have the family round for Sunday lunch.

But they wouldn’t want a smaller recycling bag or box, such as those at the other end of the village.

“I think we’re better off than those down in the village,” Mrs Taylor says.

Down the street, the Glennons are also fairly satisfied with their service, although Mrs Glennon says: “Sometimes we have more recycling than we have rubbish, so you have a small amount in the bin, but the bag is overflowing. We could do with a recycling bin.”

But Debbie Rice, who lives with husband, Andrew, and their three children in nearby Dene Park, says: “The recycling bag is totally inadequate.

“I don’t mind recycling but the bag is rubbish. It’s not big enough.”

Mrs Rice is also opposed to fortnightly waste collections, saying that it would be “disgusting” to have rubbish piling up for two weeks.

Mrs Rice says her bins were left unemptied several times last winter and collections can be late.

But Mrs Taylor says her collections are regular and the staff are “nice lads”.

In February, Councillor Bob Young, then the county council’s cabinet member for the environment, said bin collections would remain unchanged until at least next April.

Whatever changes are agreed are likely to produce strong feelings.

Families in Esh Winning will be watching with interest.

Number crunching

Durham County Council’s waste and recycling services in numbers:

210,000: bins emptied each week

260,000: tonnes of household waste collected each year

184,600: tonnes of waste that goes to landfill each year

75,400: tonnes of material reused, recycled or composted each year

160: “residual waste collection operatives” employed

46: waste collection rounds

3: operational areas

25: percentage of household waste recycled or composted in 2007-08

29: approximate percentage of household waste recycled or composted in 2008-09

YOUR SAY How does this affect you? How do you think the council is performing on waste and recycling?