Council pilots one bin bag scheme

Residents will be encouraged to recycle more

Households in one council area are to be charged if they throw out more than one sack of rubbish each week.

A six-month pilot scheme, which aims to encourage more recycling, will see residents given 26 purple bin bags instead of the usual black bags.

Bin men will only pick up the purple bags and if residents need more they will be charged £2.80 for a roll of 10.

The scheme is being piloted in the Rye Road and Goffs Oak areas of Broxbourne borough, in Hertfordshire.

The council said it was trying to reach out to the residents' "hearts and minds" and encourage recycling while reducing waste.

It said it had set a 20% target for all waste in the borough to be recycled and the pilot would test whether the approach would improve recycling in the area.

The council said there was a kerbside collection service for paper, glass and cans plus other neighbourhood recycling centres which residents could use to cut their waste.