Last month, North Lanarkshire Council did away with the weekly bin uplift of conventional waste but arranged for the uplift of recycled materials in trademark blue bins in alternate weeks.

Staff stressed that this was the only means of meeting ever stricter targets on recycling set by the Scottish Government. They also emphasised that the cash saved on landfill tax would be donated to good causes.

Although the council has insisted that the scheme has been a success there would appear to have been a few teething problems after we revealed last week that the council had run out of blue bins.

The scheme has also been the subject of an extensive leafleting campaign from one of its key opponents - Central Scotland List MSP Jamie Hepburn who sought public feedback in a bid to have the weekly uplift of conventional waste retained.

Another critic of the scheme is a Condorrat woman who had an altercation with cleansing staff last week, after finding maggots in her bin.

Gail Walker of Summerfield Road claims that the new collections are not fit for purpose - and that the problem can only worsen if summer temperatures soar.

The part time casino supervisor said: "I had double bagged the food as I had been told to do but my bin was full of maggots. The smell was like something suppurating - it was absolutely disgusting."

Mrs Walker was told by cleansing staff that the responsibility for cleaning the stench-filled empty bin would lie with her - and was advised to fill the bin up with water then deposit the contents in a drain along the road.

"I wasn't very happy about that," said Mrs Walker.

"A member of staff did come round and see me after I made a complaint to the council and told me that perhaps a fly had laid eggs in the rubbish. I told him that I didn't need a biology lesson.

"The fact is that two weeks is just too long to leave food waste uncollected,'' she added. Mrs Walker also claims that cleansing staff have been complaining among themselves about the unpleasant aromas which are rife among bins awaiting uplift.

NLC head of land services Kenneth Wilson said that locals must take responsibility for their own bins, if this problem is to be avoided.

Mr Wilson said: "The advice given by North Lanarkshire Council with regard to preventing maggot contamination in bins has always been in accordance with that offered to Mrs Walker on this occasion. We recommend that food waste, or strong-smelling rubbish such as used nappies, is double wrapped and tightly sealed before being placed in the bin.

"We also recommend keeping the bin out of direct sunlight wherever possible, and ensuring the lid is closed at all times. Even following these guidelines, bins will by their nature be susceptible to smells and flies, which is why we also suggest cleaning them with disinfectant from time to time,'' he added.

"How to do so will depend on the individual circumstances of each resident. The empty bin, for example, could be wheeled to the pavement, placed on its side and rinsed using a garden hose, or washed out using a mop, hot water and disinfectant. If that is not possible, a disinfectant spray will help eliminate the smells that attract flies, which in turn create maggots. Whichever method is used, it is important to wear protective clothing and wash hands thoroughly afterwards.

"All the evidence from other local authorities already operating a similar system to ours shows that these simple steps help to prevent the problem of bin contamination '' he said.

However these words did not pass muster with Mr Hepburn who believes that it is not the public's means of rubbish disposal that is at fault but the new system itself.

He said: "I have had a total of 550 responses so far from my leafleting campaign and it is obvious that there are serious concerns, certainly where smells are concerned."

Mr Hepburn revealed that there have already been claims raised about uncollected food waste attracting RATS in the Westfield area - and that other parts of Cumbernauld will be receiving his leaflets in the near future.