Hundreds of Christchurch residents have had to fork out almost $50,000 this year after falling foul of bin laws.

You arrive home after an exhausting two days away with work and collapse onto your couch, desperate for bed.

Before brushing your teeth you nip out to bring in the wheelie bins you hastily put out before heading away, only to find one has been stolen.

But when you phone the council the following day they say you will have to fork out more than $100 for a new one because you did not notify them within 24 hours.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF Replacement bins are free in Christchurch - if you tell the Christchurch City Council within 24 hours of putting them out.

This is the frustrating situation hundreds of Christchurch residents have had to swallow this year after falling foul of a little-known policy – and it has cost them tens of thousands of dollars.

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The Christchurch City Council provides free replacement wheelie bins if they are reported missing within 24 hours of 11pm on collection day.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF Disgruntled residents have branded the 24-hour time frame "ridiculous" and called for a rule change.

But if you are too slow you have to pay for your own – $109 for an 80 litre bin, $120 for a 140l bin and $132 for the largest 240l bin.

Wheelie bins are hot property in Christchurch, with 3660 requests – more than 300 a month – for new ones so far in 2017.

Some 1160 unfortunate people have been caught out by the 24-hour deadline and of those, 410 households forked out for a new bin, costing them a total of almost $50,000.

DAVID HALLETT/STUFF The Christchurch City Council says without the policy, replacing missing bins would cost taxpayers $500,000 a year.

The policy has prompted fury among some residents, with one branding it "ridiculous" and calling for a change in regulations to be fairer on those who have been away or simply not noticed.

But the council says without it, replacing missing bins would cost taxpayers $500,000 a year.

More than $325,000 has been spent on replacing lost bins so far in 2017 – a $277,000 loss borne by the contractor and $49,000 from 410 people who stumped up the cash after failing to notify the council within 24 hours.

Household wheelie bins are owned and supplied by the council's contractor, Waste Management, and the payment covers the price of a new bin, delivery and labelling, as well as administration costs.

One resident, a healthcare worker from Shirley, said he felt unfairly penalised by the council for being charged for a bin that disappeared while he was away with work.

The 52-year-old, who asked not be named, told Stuff he put his bins out on a Wednesday lunchtime earlier this month and returned two days later to find his yellow recycling bin missing.

After informing the council he was told he would be charged $120 – and that there was little chance of the council making an exception.

"I think it is kind of ridiculous," he said.

"I can understand them needing to do it for people who take advantage of the system, but I pay my rates on time, I am a pretty honest person and it has never happened before.

"I am sure other people have been in situations where they have to go away – to be told that you are going to be charged without investigating is not on."

The man said it was unfair to have no leeway for people who were away, saying it was "realistically not enough time" and that residents might not notice a missing bin for 48 hours or more.

He said: "We pay these people a lot of money and one of the services is rubbish collection.

"(My complaint) feels a little insignificant and petty but it is more about the perception of what they do.

"We are supposed to be promoting things like recycling and keeping Christchurch beautiful and taking care of our waste, and this doesn't seem like it matches that mission.

"They need to change the rules. For every call there needs to be some investigation about what has happened, and then they can make the call (over charging) at that point."

The council said the regulation had been in place since 2009 and the public had been regularly informed about it through advertising campaigns.

Council solid waste manager Ross Trotter said: "If a missing or stolen wheelie bin is reported to council outside of the 24-hour timeframe or the bin has been moved from private property, a replacement charge applies.

"The council's experience is that a number of people who report their bins stolen, later locate them near to their property. Without requiring notification of bins missing from kerbside within 24 hours of collection day, the cost to ratepayers would be approximately $500,000 every year."