People who receive help to put their rubbish and recycling bins and boxes out for collection are being reminded to let the council know if they still require the service.
Durham County Council is updating its records for people who are registered for its assisted collections service to check if their circumstances have changed.
The authority has already written to some residents asking if they still require assistance and these residents are being reminded to respond as soon as possible.
People who have not yet been contacted will receive a letter over the coming months.
The assisted collections service is available to households where all residents aged over 16 are unable to move their wheeled bins or recycling box to the collection point because of ill health, infirmity or disability.Oliver Sherratt, Durham County Council’s head of direct services, said: “It is now several years since the list of those receiving the service was updated so we want to make sure everyone who needs help continues to receive it.
“So far, the response rate from residents has been encouraging. However, we would ask that anyone who has received a letter but has not yet replied to get in touch with us as soon as possible.
“This is a massive project that involves updating the records of more than 13,000 people so we would be very grateful for their cooperation as we contact them over the coming months.”
The council is only contacting those people who applied for assistance before January 2012.
Residents can either return the form they receive in the post or complete it online by visiting www.durham.gov.uk/assistedcollections
