A campaign to save fortnightly bin collections in Wiltshire has been launched.
A cross-party coalition of Wiltshire councillors representing the Calne area has set up Say No to 3-Weekly Bins.
The campaign opposes Wiltshire Council's plans to reduce the collection of residual household waste from once a fortnight to once every three weeks from 2027.
At the same time, waste contractors will begin weekly food waste collections and soft plastics recycling which, argues the council, will reduce the amount of refuse in residual rubbish bins.
However, the group - made up of Cllr Augusta Urquhart-Nicholls (Calne Chilvester and Abberd, Reform), Cllr Ashley O'Neill (Calne Rural, Conservative) and Cllr Mike Sankey, say the changes will "seriously damage public health and local hygiene."
Cllr Urquhart-Nicholls told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Forcing residents to store uncollected rubbish for up to 21 days will inevitably lead to overflowing bins, increased pest problems including rats and flies, and a heightened risk to public health – especially during warmer months."
Cllr O'Neill added: "You cannot remove both reliable kerbside collections and easy access to recycling centres and expect public health and neighbourhood cleanliness to remain unaffected."
And Cllr Sankey argued: “These cuts will lead to more fly-tipping, vermin infestations and frustrated communities. We will not stand by while vital services are eroded.”
The campaigners are also against cuts to the household recycling centre at Lower Compton and the introduction of an online booking system for recycling centres across the county.
Residents can join the campaign on Facebook. A petition to the council is due to be launched shortly.
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The campaign launch follows a failed attempt through a Conservative-Reform pact to stop three-weekly bin collections at last week's Wiltshire Council budget-setting meeting.
The Liberal Democrat-led administration said it could save £3.4 million a year by switching from fortnightly to three-weekly collections.
A Reform motion to remove the saving from the budget was wrapped into the Conservatives' 'alternative budget,' which was voted down.
Meanwhile, a 2025 trial that could have seen every household in the county issued with an extra bin will be examined by councillors later this week.
Members of the Environment Select Committee will look at the results of the October experiment, where residents in Chippenham were asked to sort their recycling into three separate bins instead of two.
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