RESIDENTS in Darlington could see their rubbish collected fortnightly as part of council plans to save £400,000 a year.

Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet will next week consider proposals to introduce an alternative weekly collection system across the borough.

The plans, which will be subject to consultation, could be implemented by October next year and would see general waste collected one week and recycling the next.

Wheelie bins were controversially introduced in Darlington earlier this year, with household waste currently collected weekly.

Darlington was one of the last local authorities in the country to switch to wheelie bins from the previous black bag collection system, more than 20 years after some other areas.

Some residents raised concerns over bin storage in areas where space is at a premium, as well as fears over access for collection vehicles.

It remains to be seen what the public reaction to the latest planned changes to bin collections in Darlington will be.

Three potential options for a switch to alternative weekly collections have been set out in papers prepared for cabinet members.

Richard Alty, the council’s director of place, favours the introduction of a second 240-litre wheeled bin for the collection of waste for recycling for the majority of properties.

This option would give an overall saving of £425,000 according to the report, despite the estimated initial £125,000 expenditure for extra bins.

Mr Alty added: “Having only recently implemented wheeled bins, we feel this is feasible to do and hope it will increase recycling.

“Bringing in the wheelie bins was actually quite smooth.

“There are people with concerns, we acknowledge that and we are working hard to make sure they are met, but we are confident this can be equally smooth.”

The savings would come from reductions in the collection round and waste contract. Some jobs will be at risk of redundancy, Mr Alty said.

Darlington has a waste contract with Stonegrave Aggregates, which runs until 2020, and any changes to the waste collection will need to tie-in to that agreement.

Other local authorities in the region that have alternative weekly collections include Hambleton and Richmondshire district councils, in North Yorkshire, where general waste is collected one week and recycling the next.

Similar arrangements exist in Hartlepool, York, Durham and Redcar and Cleveland.