CHESHIRE East Council has launched a consultation on the seasonal shutdown of brown bin collections in a bid to avoid last year’s fiasco.

The council’s servicing commissioner in charge of waste collections has maintained that a winter cessation of the garden waste collection makes ‘complete sense’.

But the authority wants people’s feedback on the most appropriate time to temporarily suspend the service.

It follows a full public apology issued by the council when the suspension between October 2013 and March 2014 left many residents with bins full of festering waste.

Cabinet portfolio holder David Topping said: “Shutting down the garden waste service over the coldest months of the year makes complete sense.

“The policy is designed to ensure efficient use of council resources and, of course, save money. Demand at this time of year is low and the shutdown reduces carbon emissions.

“The consultation is all about getting the views of our residents and putting them first.

“We want to know when residents consider is the best time to shut down the service, the length of the shutdown and what’s the best way to get the message out to them.”

A Cheshire East spokesman added: “The council acknowledges that it got it wrong last time, which is why a consultation has now been launched to find out what residents think is the best solution.”

Residents are being urged to take part in the consultation, in preparation for the 2014/2015 autumn and winter period.

The consultation runs until July 23, 2014, and can be accessed via cheshireeast.gov.uk

For those residents who do not have internet access at home, they can complete a survey at their local library or customer service centre.