WEEKLY black wheely bin collections are being scrapped across Runcorn and Widnes to save money and increase recycling.

From Monday, August 17, a new fortnightly refuse collection service is being introduced.

Blue recycling bins will be emptied on the same day as the black bins in the week in between.

Halton Council has already switched 24,000 homes to the alternate bin collection in a phased transition since 2011.

Now the remaining 25,000 suitable properties will be transferred.

The move will cut jobs but the council stresses there will be no compulsory redundancies.

Jimmy Fallon, Halton Council divisional manager for waste and environment improvement said: “We will be working with fewer teams and require less staff but there will be no compulsory job losses as a result.

“A number of people have taken the opportunity for voluntary redundancy.”

He is unable to confirm the exact number of job cuts as details are still being finalised.

He said families who have already switched to the new system have saved money by throwing away less food.

Last year, almost 2,500 tonnes less general waste was collected and recycling rose from 38 per cent to 46 per cent.

Mr Fallon said: “It will be more cost effective and efficient.

“If every resident reduced their waste by 10 per cent, this would reduce our annual disposal bill by £300,000.”

The average family, he said, throws away £50 in waste food a month.

He added: “We want people to think about food waste and they could save themselves money.

“Re-use your food, freeze it or don’t buy as much.

“In these austere times the money we save can be put back into more important services.”

It costs three times more to dispose of general waste than it does to recycle.

Halton Cllr Stef Nelson, board member for environmental services said: “With the help of our residents we have made year on year improvements in recycling performance but we need to keep doing more.

“The council spends over £3 million per year dealing with general rubbish.

“Just think how much better we could use that money.”