A THOUSAND homes in West Devon will have their black bin bags collected every three weeks from Monday (February 24) in a trial by West Devon Borough Council, which, if deemed successful, will see the move rolled out across the entire borough.

West Devon Borough Council (WDBC) is undertaking the waste trial to encourage residents to recycle more since it introduced improved weekly recycling and food waste collections earlier this year.

In Tavistock, the trial area includes Chaucer Road, Deer Leap, Downlea, Down Park Drive, Down Road, Milton Crescent, Long Grove and Shelley Avenue; in Okehampton, Abbey Rise, De Brionne Heights, Fern Close, Fern Meadow, Holley Park, The Glen, Knowle View, Laburnum Way, Leaholes Avenue, Limehayes Road, Lower Crooked Meadow, Oak Road, Upper Crooked Meadow and Willow Tree Close. A number of villages will also take part, including Bratton Clovelly, Bridestowe, Broadbury, Combebow, Cross Roads, Eworthy, Germansweek, Lewdown, Lewtrenchard and Lobhill Cross.

After six months, the council plans to meet to review progress of the trial and after 12 months it will discuss the final results and decide whether to roll the change out to the rest of the borough.

The council is encouraging those in the trial to recycle as much as possible, while also promoting waste reduction in the first instance. Families with nappy or incontinence product waste are being advised to double bag before placing in their black sacks to reduce odours and store their sacks in closed containers such as short dustbins in between collections. It is also promoting the use of ‘real nappies’ in place of disposable.

WDBC’s lead member for environment Cllr Caroline Mott said: ‘The areas included in our trial were carefully chosen to reflect the variety of housing types in West Devon.

‘It is really important that the trial helps us understand how the change in collection frequency would impact both rural and town areas while avoiding disruption to our existing collections rounds.

‘The trial is limited to three different areas across the borough so that those taking part can feel a sense of community.

‘We have no plans to provide wheelie bins at this time but if residents want to buy a dustbin to store their waste in then it isn’t a problem as long as the bin is less than one metre tall so that the crews can easily get the sacks out.

‘Several district councils across Devon and other regions have started, or are moving towards, a three weekly waste collection. We are certainly not in the minority in trying to cut down waste, improve our recycling rates while reducing our carbon footprint.’

Visit www.westdevon.gov.uk for more information.