One year after Oxford's "recycling revolution" started, people across the city say they are desperate for a return to weekly rubbish collections.

Last November the city switched to alternate weekly collections, leaving normal household waste - including food - untouched for a fortnight at a time, with recyclable material picked up every other week.

Despite figures which show that 40 per cent of household waste in Oxford is recycled - up from 29 per cent in November, 2006 - concerned residents have branded the scheme "ill-thought, confusing and unsympathetic".

But last night, Jean Fooks - the councillor in charge of the city's waste arrangements - said there was "absolutely no way" the city would ever revert to weekly rounds.

She insisted the scheme was working and had won over hearts and minds.

Click here to read the full story on Councillor Jean Fooks's view of the past year.

The Oxford Mail surveyed an Oxford street, picked at random, to get the people's verdict on the "revolution".

Most living in Aston Street, East Oxford, thought the scheme had forced them to recycle more - but a majority of the 30 homes said they wanted waste collected every week.

Dr Katherine Bradley said: "It's awful when the bins are left strewn across the road. I'd prefer it if we went back to a weekly collection, because it can be pretty smelly."

Student Andy Brown, 20, said: "A bigger green bin or a weekly waste collection would be good. There's five of us here and we fill up the recycling bins as well."

And mother-of-four Miriam Mundal, 52, added: "A weekly collection is essential.

"I don't have enough room and I don't like this two-weekly collection because it really does smell in the summer."

But Ms Fooks said: "It's not going to happen (returning to weekly rubbish collections).

"Why do some people want a return to weekly collections? It's the food waste, I think. Ultimately, we want to collect food waste separately on a weekly basis and by spring or summer next year we hope to have a pilot in place in part of the city."

Aston Road resident Graham Roberts, 39, said: "We have had to call in environmental health and put rat traps in the back garden."

Paul Freestone, 55, added: "There's a rat problem because people put food out in the rubbish. If people didn't put food scraps outside then you wouldn't attract rats and there would not be a problem."