LEAFLETS are being sent to borough households to herald major changes to household rubbish collections in Basingstoke and Deane.

From Monday, October 3, waste collection teams will only pick up one grey bin per household and will no longer take extra bags and boxes left alongside.

It is hoped the move will encourage residents to put more recyclable material into their green recycling bins.

The changes mark the start of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s new cost-saving waste contract, signed with neighbouring Hart District Council, which has also heralded the introduction of kerbside glass collection in the borough.

The waste contract, which will run for seven years, is expected to produce annual savings of £1million for the borough council, which is opting to reinvest £300,000 a year to introduce doorstep glass collection.

Among the other major changes, refuse collection teams will now carry out checks on green bins to make sure they only contain items that can be recycled.

If they don’t, the bin may not be collected and an information notice will be left on the bin giving more information on what can and cannot be recycled.

The borough’s recycling rate is languishing at 23 per cent, one of the lowest in Hampshire. From this week, households will begin receiving leaflets outlining the impending collection changes.

The big recycling push is being spearheaded by Councillor Elaine Still, Cabinet member for the environment, who believes educating residents about what can and cannot be recycled is the real hurdle to improving recycling rates.

She said: “We need to think about our future generations. We do not want to leave them with great big tips of waste everywhere. If people aren’t recycling then, in my view, it is not ethically right.”

Cllr Still added the council has kept weekly bin collections, and has not resorted to a fortnightly service employed by many other local authorities.

She said: “The changes we are making to the service are aimed at increasing use of green recycling bins and reducing the use of grey rubbish bins. I know that people can still get confused about what can and can’t be recycled and so put things in their rubbish bin that could be put in the green bin.”

Since July, the council has been rolling out kerbside glass collection, which will see green tubs given to all borough households by next summer. This is to save residents having to travel to bring-banks to recycle jars and bottles.

Cllr Still said: “If every household in the borough recycles everything possible, we will double our recycling rate.”