Pledge to restore weekly rubbish collections 'will be binned'

A high profile Conservative pledge to restore weekly bin collections will be abandoned, it has been reported.

Ministers have conceded that there will be no new initiatives to persuade councils to return to seven-day collections, according to the Daily Mail.

In the last parliament, the then communities secretary Sir Eric Pickles championed a £250 million programme intended to halt the trend towards fortnightly collections.

However it failed to convince any local authority to go back to weekly bin rounds.

The Mail quoted a Government source as saying that it was now unlikely to survive the forthcoming spending review.

"It is a very expensive scheme and it has proved to be a pretty ineffective one," the source said. "It would be very surprising if it survives the spending review. There are other priorities. It's time to move on."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said it continues to support frequent bin collections.

"The Government encourages councils to support the wishes of local people, many of whom believe every household in England has a basic right to have their rubbish taken away every week," said the spokeswoman.

"The Government continues to champion frequent and convenient bin collections which protect the environment and public health. We will also be working with local authorities to make recycling easier for people.

"This department also published 'guidance on weekly rubbish collections' which showed that local authorities can make savings while not harming the quality of the service that local taxpayers receive."