RUBBISH collections are to undergo a huge shake-up which

will see collection days change for nearly every householder in

Plymouth, The Herald can reveal.

Brown and green bins will be emptied four days a week

instead of five from November 3 with crews working an extra two

hours a day.

The city will be divided into four zones with all Plymouth's

30 bin lorries blitzing one zone a day from Monday to

Thursday.

During bank holiday weeks, bins will be collected on

Tuesdays to Fridays, with each collection shifting one day and

crews being paid overtime for Fridays.

It is thought 80 per cent of residents will see their

collection day change for brown bins, which will still be

emptied weekly, and green bins, emptied fortnightly.

Refuse workers voted three to one to accept the scheme. With

trucks expected to start on the outskirts of each zone and work

inwards it will be more efficient and also save on full bin

lorry trips to Chelson Meadow's waste transfer station.

The changes will also allow vehicles to be serviced on

Fridays once every six weeks, keeping them on the road the rest

of the time and saving on hiring replacements.

The council is planning a huge media campaign to alert

people to the changes.

A council spokeswoman said the new rounds have been

rearranged to take into account housing growth and the increase

in waste being recycled.

"The reorganisation is designed to make the service more

efficient, more responsive to customers and will lead to the

streets being cleaner," she said.

"The four-day week has been adopted by other councils to

ensure the fleet and crews are used most effectively, with

positive feedback from Audit Commission inspections."

The authority spent £3.9million on different sized bin

lorries last year, with smaller ones able to negotiate narrow

back lanes and steep hills.

"The city has been plotted to establish the size of vehicles

appropriate for each street and this will dramatically reduce

the problems with blocked access, which is a cause of missed

collections," the spokeswoman said.

"The new rounds, coupled with the efficient deployment of

the new fleet, will substantially reduce the number of tip runs

and keep fuel costs down. It will also lower the carbon

footprint of the service."

The fleet is equipped with radios which means each lorry can

be contacted and be 'more responsive to customers'.

The council will launch a publicity campaign towards the end

of September.

A letter explaining changes, and notifying all residents of

new collection days, goes out in October.

A link on the council's website will enable people to type

in their address to find out their bin collection day. There

will also be advertising on billboards, buses, radio and

newspapers.

Council leader Cllr Vivien Pengelly said: "We want to make

our service better, keep our streets cleaner and encourage more

recycling, so we are changing it.

"We have not looked at the rounds for 10 years and things

have changed considerably – there are new homes, more recycling

being collected and the new vehicles and technology will mean

there is closer contact between the call centre, back offices

and the trucks."

Chelson Meadow delays – Page 9