Thousands of West Devon residents to trial black bin collection once every three weeks
Thousands of homes in West Devon will have their black bin rubbish collected once every three weeks from today (Monday 24 February) as part of a new trial. This is in place of the previous fortnightly collections.
The council wants to improve its carbon footprint and the amount of waste it recycles.
They say that too many people put rubbish which could actually be recycled into general waste bins.
Food waste and recycling will continue to be collected weekly.
Parts of Tavistock, Okehampton and Bridestowe Ward are the areas included in the trial. All residents taking part have been informed by letter.
East Devon switched to a three-weekly residual waste collection in 2017.
Recycling rates there have risen by more than 10 per cent since the switch took place. They now exceed the government target of 50 per cent for this year.
The picture is different in West Devon where the amount of recycling has dropped year on year since 2010. The district used to recycle 60 per cent of its domestic waste but this has since been declining.
The move to three-weekly collection is an attempt to reverse this trend.
In the South West the Isles of Scilly had the lowest household recycling rates from a 2017/18 government study. Stroud showed the highest household recycling rates.
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Residents can also sign up for an email reminder as part of the trial. It will notify them when their black bags are being collected and will also give advice on how to reduce waste.
Roadshows will be held during the trial, between 19th and 20th February, in the areas that are affected.
The trial will be reviewed in six months time.