Angry residents have hit out at district council plans to start charging for lost and damaged bins, claiming waste teams fail to return containers to the correct houses.

Currently South Bucks District Council (SBDC) foots the bill for new bins ordered by residents, costing up to £96.60 per home.

The authority now wants to bring the service in line with what’s offered in the Wycombe and Chiltern districts – where residents are required to pay for additional waste containers.

However concerned residents  have criticised plans – saying waste teams often leave bins “halfway up the road” or return damaged containers.

Commenting on social media, Pat Mullins said: “How ridiculous. Maybe some staff training on how to return bins to the correct houses might be more appropriate.

“We’ve lost various bins and lids purely because of this. It’s not rocket science.”

Gerry Canne added: “My brown caddy food waste bin was broken the first day I had it. The bin men emptied it and threw it back on to my front lawn, breaking the lid in the process.

“I complained to Wycombe District Council, they said they’d give me a new one but never did.”

If plans are given the go-ahead residents who move into a property where there is no rubbish or recycling bins will also have to pay for new ones.

SBDC has insisted the waste crews “take care” not to damage or misplace bins during collections, however added containers will be replaced free of charge if this does happen.

Spokesman, Connie Primmer, said: “The introduction of charges in other districts such as Chiltern and Wycombe has helped to deter spurious and time-wasting requests for containers that do not actually need to be replaced.

“It encourages residents to take greater responsibility for their containers and helps to control the cost of replacing lost, stolen or damaged containers free of charge.

“We expect the policy change to affect a minority of residents.”

If the cabinet approves the plans the charges will be introduced in April next year.