That’s rubbish news: 57,000 homes face monthly bin rounds

MONTHLY bin collections become a reality for 57,000 households this week as a council becomes the first in England and Wales to collect waste just once every four weeks.

Despite protests from residents in pilot areas that wheelie bins are left overflowing and fly-tipping is on the rise, Conwy Council in North Wales is pressing ahead. It says the change – likely to be scrutinised closely by town halls across Britain – will save almost £400,000 a year as well as increase recycling rates.

When four-weekly collections were introduced in a trial for 11,000 homes, residents claimed they had to resort to standing inside their bins in order to squash their rubbish to make space for more, while others resorted to burning it.

‘It’s the length of time that’s the problem, not the quantity,’ one resident told the BBC yesterday. ‘It festers. It’s as simple as that.’ Another said: ‘I think it’s dreadful. It’s more than full after two weeks and I burn some of it. You’re not supposed to do that, but you have to otherwise the bin is absolutely bursting.’

The authority, run by a Conservative - independent coalition, approved a number of measures to address concerns, including free collection of large items, free nappy bins for grandparents who look after children and extra collections for those who are on holiday on bin day. Food waste, nappies and recyclables will be collected every week, and garden waste every fortnight.

The move comes as councils in Surrey, Devon and Greater Manchester move to three-weekly collections for general refuse.

Conwy Council said trials had seen a 14 per cent increase in recycling and a 31 per cent cut in wheelie bin waste.