Four-weekly bin collection plans dumped after trials.

Change to pick-up schedule did not achieve expected financial savings or increase the amount of waste recycled

Controversial trials in Fife of fourweekly collections of household rubbish have been dumped.

Less frequent emptying of blue bins for general waste and more regular pickups of recyclable material were tested in parts of the region.

However, the trial failed to achieve the increase in recycling and financial savings anticipated and it was decided its adoption Fife-wide should not be supported.

It also found that more than half the material people put in blue bins for landfill could be recycled.

The only change which will be implemented region-wide as a result of the test will be four-weekly collection of food and garden waste over the winter months.

Brown bin collections will shift from fortnightly to four-weekly between December and February, when less garden waste is generated.

The council’s environment, protective services and community safety committee agreed yesterday to end trials in Markinch, Coaltown of Balgonie, Thornton and the Stenton area of Glenrothes and implement the new brown bins system from December.

Councillors also heard that one of the two trials generated no savings while the second yielded some predicted financial benefits, but not enough to pay back initial investment in fewer than 30 years.

A report to the committee said: “The results from the trials and the change in circumstances around national policy and markets since the trials started do not support the rollout of either trial Fife-wide.

“In light of future challenges and uncertainties Fife is facing it would seem prudent to focus instead on the development of the new resource strategy for Fife which will set out the 10-year plan for meeting these challenges.”

Changes are required to the materials put in each bin for Fife to meet the national recycling charter it signed in July 2016.

Plastic carrier bags, plastic films and polystyrene which account for 15% to 25% of waste in Fife’s green bins are unacceptable for recycling under the charter.

Cartons including Tetrapaks which can be put into grey bins with paper and cardboard will go in green bins under the charter.

The strategy, which will identify disposal options for the unacceptable plastics, will be presented for approval in the spring.

A survey of householders involved in the trials found nine out of 10 people agreed brown bins should be emptied only every four weeks over winter.

In light of future challenges and uncertainties Fife is facing it would seem prudent to focus instead on the development of the new resource strategy for Fife which will set out the 10-year plan for meeting these challenges

Brown bin collections will change from fortnightly to fourweekly between December and February.