Council reserves should be used to enable overflowing bins on Poole streets to be quickly dealt with, it is claimed.

Poole People town centre councillors are proposing this remedy in a bid to prevent rubbish from bins flowing onto pavements, which happens in busy areas in good weather.

Cllr Mark Howell, leader of the group, who along with Cllr Chris Wilson is proposing the motion at the next full council meeting, said: “Poole People does not feel that it is acceptable to allow bins to overflow in times of high visitor numbers as this will inevitably damage the tourism industry and reputation of the borough.”

Town centre and Poole Quay bins can quickly be filled in summer when there are many visitors around and the head of environmental and consumer protection services (ECPS), Shaun Robson, has told councillors it would be “inefficient and unaffordable” to meet peak demand, said Cllr Howell.

“The hot and dry summer this year has put added strain on the refuse collection service and as a result bins have been overflowing at times on locations used by residents and visitors for leisure purposes,” Cllr Howell added.

“The current approach of ECPS is to tolerate this situation on the basis that it does not have the capacity to meet such spikes in refuse creation.”

The motion calls on the council to use reserves in the case of future spikes to ensure that a high standard of refuse collection was maintained in tourist locations.

Resident Bryan Rooney is calling for bigger bins to be provided. “Visitors and people of Poole try to be tidy, but the quay bins are just too small for the activities,” he said. “Not only that, but the gulls pull out the overflow and cause a mess.”