Residents will see fortnightly black bin collections as council saves �8.5m on contract costs

Details of the new door-to-door waste collection service to be rolled out across West Norfolk next year are being sent to every household.

The new service will see the introduction of a weekly food waste collection, with the traditional black bins emptied fortnightly, alternating with the green recycling bins.

The move will save West Norfolk Council �8.5m over eight years and, it is hoped, will also see recycling rates for the borough rise from the current level of 37pc to 50pc.

'Research shows that around a third of the waste in the black bin is actually food. By collecting this separately and sending it to be turned into compost, vastly reduced the amount of waste sent to land fill,' said Brian Long, council cabinet member for the environment.

'Our main effort now will be about making sure people know what to expect from this new service and know how to get the most out of it,' he added.

The council has assured householders it will be the 'carrot, not the stick approach,' with no danger of fines for those who do not use the food waste system.

'We hope people will embrace it because it is a good way of recycling and reduces the amount going to landfill,' said Mr Long.

Leaflets will start going out to every house in the borough from Monday explaining the move.

The current 140-litre black bins will be collected and shredded for recycling to be replaced by 240-litre new ones. Householders will also receive a kitchen caddy for food waste, both cooked and raw, and a roll of 50 compostable bags to line them.

These caddies should be emptied into a new 23-litre food bin outside the house which will then be collected weekly.

The new service will begin in April next year and contractor Kier Services will be the provider for both West Norfolk and North Norfolk in a joint contract arrangement.

The current recycling arrangements with the green bins will not change for at least a year as they are subject to a separate contract.

Properties which still retain black bags will receive the food caddies but should not see any changes to their weekly bag collection.