Bin collections being cut to every fortnight

More homes could see the end of weekly bin collections after a government report played down claims of fortnightly collections causing hygiene problems, reports the BBC.

Many councils have already adopted a policy of collecting general waste fortnightly - with many picking up recyclable rubbish on alternate weeks.

The research into waste collections - funded by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) - found that if waste was properly wrapped there should be no hygiene concerns.

However some residents in areas where rubbish is collected fortnightly have complained of more rats, maggots and nasty odours.

Doretta Cocks, a Hampshire housewife who campaigns against fortnightly collections, says they are "not adequate" and "compromise public health".

She says her bin gives off an "awful smell" after 10 days, despite the rubbish being double-wrapped.

One third of English councils have already phased out weekly collections of general waste. Similarly, half of Welsh councils and many Northern Irish authorities already carry out less frequent collections.

Councils claim that the move to less frequent rubbish collections is more about encouraging recycling than cost-cutting. But is it becoming too much to ask that our streets are kept clean and our bins emptied?

Certainly if local authorities can no longer afford weekly bin collections, the time has come to cut wasteful spending elsewhere. Payments to an audit-failing and extremely wasteful EU must surely be a prime candidate for the chop.