Greater Manchester council scraps plan for fortnightly green bin collections

Stockport council has scrapped a plan to make green bin collections fortnightly.

The move to change the system from weekly collections to every two weeks from winter was announced at the start of the year as part of the town hall's cost-cutting measures.

It was expected to save the council around £600,000 as part of a wider waste review, and the authority assured residents that the move would not impact recycling levels.

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But these plans have now been shelved for the "foreseeable future" according to deputy council leader Mark Roberts.

He said: "The council was due to switch to fortnightly collections of green bins this winter.

"As we have got a little more clarity from the new government about their intentions around implementation of the last government's English waste strategy, we believe it would be a mistake to implement this now.

"Instead, I've asked officers to keep the current weekly bin collection regime in place for the foreseeable future as we get more clarity from the government and what they expect of us."

Mr Roberts also highlighted new changes to recycling, affecting Stockport and eight other Greater Manchester councils which are part of a joint waste disposal authority apart from Wigan, which administers its own disposal arrangements.

This means from October 14 residents will be able to start recycling plastic pots, tubs and trays in addition to plastic bottles in their brown mixed recycling bin.

The proposal to make green bin collections fortnightly in Stockport was criticised by opposition councillors in February, who warned that it could lead to waste being left on streets.

Stockport Green Party leader Coun Gary Lawson said at the time that making green bin collections every two weeks would "probably lead to some people dumping their waste" around the borough.

Earlier this year, Stockport council leader Mark Hunter told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that "nothing's been ruled out" when it comes to service cuts as the local authority looks to balance the books.

According to a council report at the beginning of the year, Stockport needs to make more than £40 million in savings by 2027/28.