Government wants return to weekly bin runs

Councils are to be offered financial support to restore weekly rubbish collections, the Government announced last night.

A new quarter of a billion pound fund is being set up to help local authorities in England switch from fortnightly to weekly bin rounds.

The policy is being seen by Conservatives as delivering on a pledge the party made while in Opposition.

The Government came under fire in June following its Waste Review when it was revealed that councils would not have to bring back weekly bin collections and householders would not be penalised for "minor mistakes" when putting out their bins.

Labour then accused the Government of breaking its pre-election promise to abandon fortnightly bin collections, branding it a "huge missed opportunity".

Unveiling the move ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, said that he believed every household in England had "a basic right" to have their rubbish collected every week.