CLOSE to 6,000 people have now sent York council bosses a clear message - bring back weekly bin collections.

That's the number of readers who have signed up to the Evening Press Bin It! campaign, which argues for the return of the weekly household waste pick up.

This week, City of York Council began its alternate collection scheme - picking up grey household refuse one week and green waste the next.

The Evening Press has received numerous calls from residents confused when their green or grey bins are to be picked up from their streets.

On Tuesday, we reported how some homeowners had been given the wrong collection calendars. Council chiefs apologised for the error, and said correct calendars were now being delivered.

The authority said it picked up about 80 tonnes of garden waste on Monday and 84 tonnes on Tuesday.

Petition forms and online petitions continue to flood into the Evening Press offices, with readers not shy in voicing their complaints.

Sheila Bedford, of York, wrote: "I find I can fill my grey bin weekly and would still like that weekly collection."

Karen Hallem, of Heworth, said manufacturers were to blame. "It is their fancy, unnecessary packaging that is the sole factor for the amount of rubbish householders produce - not the householders themselves," she wrote.

The Evening Press Bin It! campaign argues for the retention of the weekly scheme, while backing measures to boost recycling in the city.

Kristy Walton, the council's head of waste strategy, said: "On Monday, we became aware that there were pockets of the city where people have received the wrong collection calendar due to a delivery error by contractors.

"We have taken this up with our suppliers and as soon as we became aware of the problem we delivered the correct calendars to the properties. All affected residents should have received a letter aplogising for the inconvenience caused."

To help deal with the aditional calls, the York Pride Action Line's opening hours have been temporarily extended to ensure that all calls can be answered as quickly as possible.

Lines will be open between 8.30am and 7pm until at least next October 14.

Updated: 10:01 Friday, October 07, 2005