Petition against three-weekly bin collection plan

The petition said the consultation was flawed

A petition has been launched to stop West Berkshire Council from changing the frequency of bin collections, following a survey in which most people voted against the change.

The authority currently collects the black bins every two weeks but plans to extend this to once in every three weeks.

The petition said the consultation was "flawed" and there was "no clear" direct question to residents as to whether they wanted the change.

West Berkshire Council's waste strategy said it will save the council £150,000 a year and encourage people to do more recycling.

The council said there is no date yet for when the new bin rota will be introduced, but the plans were approved as part of the waste strategy in April.

The petition said: "If half the West Berkshire residents apply and receive a larger bin the proposed policy could end up costing more than it saves."

In a council survey run earlier this year, most people said they did not want a reduction in the frequency of refuse collections.

There was a high level of support for increasing waste types collected for recycling, as well as support for a review of the council bins provided for recycling collections.

Liberal Democrat Councillor and portfolio holder for waste and the environment Stuart Gourley said: "Waste services is one of the most visible we provide for the residents.

"It is used by 168,000 of us in West Berkshire but that doesn't mean we shouldn't look to improve our services.

"How and what we dispose of is also a key component in our push to improve our lived environment to reduce waste and increase recycling."

He said data shows 43 per cent of waste that goes into black bins can be recycled.

Most respondents stated that they might be able to cope with a reduction to black bin frequencies with adequate support.