Dorset councils to share waste and recycling services
Councils in Dorset are preparing to share waste and recycling services from May 2014 in a bid to save money.
West Dorset councillors have approved plans to join the countywide service, which they say could save the authority more than £300,000 a year.
The authority said the move could improve recycling rates - currently at 35% - to 65%.
Other councils in Dorset, with the exception of Bournemouth and Poole, are also considering the proposals.
Christchurch Borough Council has already approved plans to join the scheme.
The new system, to be run by Dorset Waste Partnership, would replace the 12 different collections operating across the county.
Residents would be provided with a weekly food waste collection, a fortnightly recycling collection of glass, card, paper, plastics, batteries, tins and cans, and a fortnightly collection of leftover non-recyclable waste to go to landfill.
Under the proposals, residents would also be given a seven-litre food waste kitchen caddy, a lockable food waste container to be kept outside, a 140-litre wheeled bin for non-recyclable landfill rubbish, a 240-litre wheeled bin for recycling and a 55 litre recycling box for glass.
A charge would be payable for a proposed fortnightly garden waste collection service.