Plans to only collect rubbish in Greenwich once a fortnight – while extra bags will not be taken at all

By Lachlan Leeming, Local Democracy Reporter

Major changes to bin collections being proposed by Greenwich council are set to be voted on next week, the authority has announced.

Among the major changes, which will impact all residents living in homes outside of communal flats, are that black general waste bins will only be emptied fortnightly, while extra rubbish bags left next to bins won’t be collected at all.

The proposals have been shaped by an unprecedented response to a consultation run by the council earlier this year, which saw 4,000 replies forwarded, as part of a bid by the authority to increase recycling rates and cut costs.

The suggested changes relate to homes and converted flats that have individual wheelie bins.

Blocks of flats with communal bins or flats with nowhere to store wheelie bins would not be affected.

Council leader Danny Thorpe said the changes would also cut waste collection costs, taking aim at Government funding cuts in the process.