Bristol City Council could become the first English local authority to implement black bin waste collections every four weeks.
The Green-led Council is consulting on proposals to implement black bin waste collections once every three or four weeks instead of two, which it says would save millions of pounds per year and increase recycling rates.
According to the Council, switching to a three-weekly black bin collection would save £1.3m annually, while a four-weekly collection would save £2.3m.
The Council estimates that keeping the current system will add over £8m a year to the cost of managing the city’s waste because of new charges for disposing of black bin waste by incinerating it or sending it to landfill.
The Council warned that unless other action is taken, this will lead to an increase in local taxes and the price of waste management services for residents.
Bristol City Council forecasts that reducing the frequency of black bin collections could stop between 7,000 and 10,000 tonnes of waste going to landfill or being incinerated.
Bristol currently recycles around 45% of its household waste, which makes it one of the highest recycling authorities in the UK; however, the Council has warned the rate of recycling is dropping.
Around 483,000 people live in Bristol, which translates to over 191,000 households. The Council says, on average, each person creates between 350 and 400kg of household waste per year.
Bristol City Council says it will also look at how it collects recycling and the options available for people to recycle their waste, such as introducing new ways for people to present recycling for collection, increasing the use of recycling sacks, or introducing recycling bins for each household.
3,600 people have signed a Labour petition against the idea after criticism from residents and political opponents the switch could increase fly-tipping.
Bristol City Council’s Labour group leader Tom Renhard said there should be a focus on “sorting out” the existing service first before considering three- or four-weekly bin collections.
