Weekly bin collections face axe

Weekly bin collections in Shrewsbury could be scrapped in October to save money after Government funding was slashed.

The new fortnightly system is being recommended after it was revealed Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council will miss out on up to £240,000 each year.

If the move goes ahead it would lead to household waste being collected once every two weeks, not every seven days.

The new system would also include a collection of recyclable material on alternate weeks to bring Shrewsbury in line with the rest of Shropshire.

The recommendation to scrap the town’s weekly bin collections from October has been made by Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council’s head of finance, Campbell Thompson.

He said the loss of up to £240,000 of Government money for waste collection and recycling had forced the council to search for new ways to balance the books.

Mr Thompson said changes to the Government’s Recycling Credits Scheme would leave the authority out of pocket by £120,000 from next year, and by £240,000 for every year after.

He said: “It is to take account of the changes which are coming in with the Recycling Credits Scheme this year. It is to ensure our budget remains in balance and is one of the options to address the problem we face from October.”

If cabinet members do follow the report’s recommendations it will then be put to full council who will decide whether the fortnightly collections are to be introduced.

Borough council chief executive Robin Hooper has said the idea of charging people extra to have their bins emptied every week should be looked at.