West Suffolk Council has defended sending letters to householders about bin collection day changes after residents unaffected by the move labelled it a waste of money.
The council sent letters to nearly 80,000 households to notify them about changes in blue and black bin collection days and times, but some residents were left scratching their heads as their "new collection day" remained the same.
However the authority said 90% of households would see either a change to the day or the week in which their bin is emptied, and, where the days haven't changed, the times of collection for all residents has.
On the We Really Love Bury St Edmunds Facebook group, those with seemingly no change to their bin day branded the letters a "waste of money, time and paper".
But a council spokesman said the £22,000 cost of sending the letters was "necessary" as the alternative would be people complaining their bin had been missed and it would end up costing more to send additional lorries out.
One person on the Facebook group said: "I thought it was a trick to start with lol. Unbelievable waste of time and money."
Another person said: "Just opened my letter! Same day as it always has been. Waste of money or what??"
A West Suffolk Council spokesman said: "Even where the days haven't changed, the times of collection for all residents has.
"That means people who routinely put their bin out in the morning knowing the current time it is emptied will need to ensure it is out earlier - not everyone likes to put their bins out the night before.
"We also know from the last time we carried out changes to bin collections that people like certainty around when they will be emptied, even if it appears there is very little change for a small percentage of residents."
He said the changes were due to housing growth across West Suffolk and "delivering the most cost-effective service for taxpayers, keeping down the costs of bin freighters, fuel and staffing hours while getting the job done".
He added the only way to ensure the information reached all residents was to write to them directly.
Brown bin collection days will remain unchanged this year for customers of the West Suffolk Garden Waste Collection Service.
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