MORE than 7,000 “deeply unhappy” residents have made their voices heard as Basildon Council moves forward with its pledge to “fix the bins”.

A consultation into the future of bin collections in Basildon has now concluded and the council is preparing to consider its next steps.

Following the roll-out of wheelie bins and alternate week collections last year by the former administration, the new Labour-led administration vowed to resolve the problem which left unsightly piles of rubbish lining the streets.

In total, 7,760 people took part in the consultation and all responses will now be reviewed before final proposals are presented to the council later in the year.

Aidan McGurran, councillor responsible for environment and leisure, said: “I would firstly like to say a huge thank you to the 7,760 people who took part in the consultation - your views will ensure that the new waste collection service will be fit for purpose, and more importantly, provide a service that you truly want.

“We will be reviewing all of your responses in the coming weeks to inform the final proposals for waste collections which I will present to the cabinet for approval soon.

“Our residents made it clear that they are deeply, deeply unhappy with the present waste collection system.

“This administration has moved at pace to carry out a genuine consultation and enter formal discussions with Essex County Council.

“I promise you the changes to the waste collection system will be guided by what you the residents have told us.

“When we were elected to lead this council back in May, we promised that we would fix the bins - we are keeping that promise.

“I look forward to sharing important updates with residents in the coming months on the future of this service - watch this space.”

The consultation includes options to return to weekly collections for non-recyclable waste.

Within the first 24 hours, the consultation received 2,036 responses - almost eight times the number of responses to previous consultations on waste, setting a record for consultations launched by the council.

Since November, residents have had to divide their rubbish and recycling into six different sections, with collections fortnightly.