Chiefs in Tameside are trialling moving recycling collections to every three weeks in pilot areas of the borough as part of cash saving plans.

Councillors are also consulting residents on introducing a charge for replacing recycling bins to tackle 'abuse' of the waste system.

This includes bins being abandoned across the borough which is ‘unsightly and hazardous’, and people ordering recycling bins and then filling them with general waste.

While residents already have to pay to replace their general waste bin, there is currently no cost for a wheeled recycling bin.

It is proposing to charge £25.63 for an individual bin of any colour, or £102.52 for a full set of bins.

The council says that introducing this charge will save the authority £190k a year, while changing to three-weekly collections for blue and black bins will save £396k annually.

Food caddies would also no longer be free, and would cost £3 for a seven litre bag and £5 for a 23 litre caddy.

“The cost-free availability of the bins does not create a sense of ownership for residents, as gaining a free replacement bin is an easy option,” the cabinet report states.

However there will be occasions when the charge for a new bin will be waived, including if the waste crew has damaged a bin, or it has fallen into the lorry, and when a bin is damaged beyond use.

A planned reduction in the frequency of bin recycling collections from fortnightly to every three weeks has also been announced.

It will cover blue and black bins that contain paper and cardboard and glass and cans respectively, but will not apply to non recyclable waste in green bins or food and garden waste in brown bins.

The new collection schedule is to be trialled first in Ridge Hill in Stalybridge, Hyde Central and Haughton Green in Denton.

The trial will run for a 12-week period which will include four waste and recycling collection cycles.

While this is ongoing officers will monitor the tonnage of waste and recycling being binned and performance data from the collection rounds.

Towards the end of the trial residents in the pilot areas will be asked to take part in an online survey to give their feedback.

Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, Councillor Allison Gwynne, said: “We, like every other council in the country, are under enormous pressure to make financial savings while also delivering services that are valued the most by residents and in particular supporting and protecting vulnerable children and adults.

“The changes in policies proposed could make a huge difference for relatively little pain and this is an opportunity for everyone to get involved and positively help shape a sustainable and effective service for the future.

“We will be retaining our policy for additional bins for those households that meet the criteria and retaining the same frequency of collections for the green non-recyclable waste bin.

“Research tells us that the majority or the black and blue recycling bins aren’t full when collected but it is important to us to check the proposals will work and find out what people think so, as well as consulting on the wider strategy, we will be piloting the collection frequency change plans for blue and black bins and asking the specific households involved how it went so we can be sure it will work on a wider scale.

“We will be reporting back on the consultation and results of the pilot later in the year.”

The consultation is running for 12 weeks and ends on 20 October. Residents can take part by visiting www.tameside.gov.uk/wastepolicy2021. 

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