Referendum over refuse collection

Fortnightly refuse collections have attracted some criticism

Householders in a Kent town are to be given the chance to vote for weekly or fortnightly rubbish collections, a council leader has said.

Jeremy Kite, the Tory leader of Dartford, said the council would hold a referendum over the frequency of refuse collection.

It is thought to be one of the first such votes on council services.

Up to four in 10 authorities in England now hold collections on alternate weeks in a bid to encourage recycling.

'Collections unpopular'

Councillor Jeremy Kite said: "This policy is undeliverable and from the people that I have spoken to, they don't want it."

He added: "Imagine what fish waste and nappy waste is going to smell like after a fortnight. It is like going back to a Dickensian age.

"We know fortnightly collections are unpopular, we know people don't want them so we plan to hold a referendum and present the results to the Government to ask them what we should do next."

Environment minister Ben Bradshaw defended the alternate collections saying there was "no evidence" that removing food and other waste fortnightly posed a health risk.

He also said councils with alternate weekly collections had much higher rates of recycling.