While it may not be unusual to see overflowing trash containers buried in a mound of garbage, the civic authority has woken up to the issue only now.

A high-level committee of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) headed by Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun has plans to inspect the bad use and poor maintenance of trash containers across the city and come up with a solution.

“The bins are not properly used as much of the trash is seen lying around,” leader of the ruling party in BBMP council Abdul Wajid told a discussion of the committee.

Those residing in apartments and individual houses leave plastic bags containing trash collected at home around the dumpsters. “It’s so evident in many areas,” Wajid added.

Residents in MG Road, Trinity circle, Indiranagar and other areas complained about overflowing bins, but the corporation did not act on them. “They aren’t cleared frequently,” said Gokul S, who works in MG Road.

“The bins keep overflowing for weeks and are reeking. They could pose a serious health problem for the children and seniors if they aren’t cleaned frequently,” Gokul added.

The committee asked the Mayor to inspect the dumps in a few places before asking officials to take action, to which the Mayor agreed.

Last year, the BBMP introduced semi-underground bins, believed to have more space than the regular bins. The public can dump waste into the six-foot-wide and six-foot-deep steel containers that could be opened from below for easy transfer of the waste.