Recycling collections are set to be reduced from a weekly service to a fortnightly one for the majority of properties due to Newham Council cuts.

The proposals are in a report to be put before the Mayor and Cabinet on October 25 following a six week pilot of the scheme encompassing 11,410 properties across two rounds.

The trial identified that households still on the orange bag scheme struggled to deal with recyclable waste on fortnightly collections while the average orange-topped wheelie bin was only 50.5 per cent full.

Out of 108,000 properties in Newham, 60,000 could move to a fortnightly collection, while the 37,000 flats and 11,000 households still on the orange bag scheme will still have a weekly collection.

The council forecasts a saving of �419,000 but implementing a communications and educaional programme to residents about the changes would incur a one-off cost of �89,960.

The report states: “Environmental Services are seeking to make efficiency savings in the operation of household waste collection services.

“The service recently implemented and reviewed a pilot scheme across two recycling rounds in the borough which highlighted the capacity for a fortnightly recycling collection across the borough.”