TAUNTON Deane Borough Council has been accused of behaving like “a teenager in his room” after it emerged it is using eBay to sell unwanted items to raise funds.

But the council says it has made thousands of pounds using the online buy and sell facility for items that would otherwise have been thrown away.

Among items sold, or being auctioned, are “a number of used but not unusable litter bins” found during a clear-out at its DLO works base in Priory Way, Taunton, ahead of its relocation to Chelston, near Wellington, and an office chair, with a starting price of 99p.

A report to councillors says: “Unless any local use can be found they will be disposed of through eBay.”

Taunton resident Philip Andrew said he was shocked at the news, adding: “It smacks of scraping the barrel a bit.

“When I think of eBay, I think of a teenager in his room selling old computer games to earn a couple of quid when he’s supposed to be doing his homework.

“I know times are hard for councils and I suppose they’ll say they’re generating money to help pay for services, but you don’t really expect councils to start earning a bit extra through eBay, do you?”

Julia Bowden, of Bathpool, said she appreciates why the council tries to recoup money from surplus stock, but questioned why the authority is selling dog bins on eBay while there are none on the new housing estates in Bathpool and Monkton Heathfield.

She said: “When 400 houses were built, the new school was started. What, I wonder, is the magic number for the number of dogs living on the estate to warrant some dog bins?”

A Deane House spokeswoman said the authority has a corporate eBay account and items are only uploaded once they are no longer required for DLO operations and have been sold off for disposal by two managers.

“Sold items are collected by the buyer and paid for by cash for all eBay sales,”

added the spokeswoman.

“These are duly accounted through the council’s books.

“The DLO started using the corporate eBay account in 2013 and has received a grand total of £18,484.33 in sales before eBay costs have been deducted.

“This is an effective means of disposing of items that are no longer of use to the council and could otherwise incur a cost for disposal as waste.

“Items that are put up for sale require dual manager sign-off to confirm that they are no longer suitable for use by the council.

“There may be a number of reasons why they are not suitable including – they are damaged; they are out of date; there’s been a change in material types in housing properties; or they have reached the end of their life and are uneconomical to maintain or repair.”