UNPOPULAR recycling sacks have been scrapped and weekly bin collections will return to Basildon, councillors have decided.

Basildon Council’s cabinet approved plans on Monday to replace re-usable blue and white recycling canvas sacks with single-use disposable bags as well as ditching two-week black bin collections after the controversial roll out of a new waste scheme.

The move follows the end of the Labour council’s “record-breaking” consultation that saw 8,000 responses from residents frustrated at the changes introduced by the previous Tory administration last November.

Since then residents have had to divide their rubbish into six different sections and have dealt with fortnightly bin collections that Labour councillors and residents have claimed left the town covered in uncollected waste.

Aidan McGurran, Labour councillor for environment and leisure, called the change from single-use pink plastic bags to sacks “a disaster” and committed to bringing back weekly collections.

He said: “I said we would fix the bins and we are well on course with that.

“The aim is to have black weekly bin collections by March 2025 and I am confident we can achieve that.

“Just to be clear that is the absolute quickest this can be done.

“I understand people’s impatience because the present system is a mess, but there are processes that have to be followed.

“The consultation we carried out was quite clear, the residents wanted a return to weekly black collections, and it is happening and they wanted to get rid of the sacks, that have been a disaster, and that is happening too.”

During the consultation, 61 per cent of respondents said they strongly agreed with proposals for a weekly wheeled bin collection for residual waste while 13 per cent strongly agreed it should remain as it is.

Labour have also reconfirmed their plans for the crunch, a mobile waste collection service, with each of the council’s six area committees – Wickford, Pitsea, Westley Heights, Laindon and Lee Chapel North, Billericay and Basildon – to get a “crunch day” on November 23.

Mr McGurran added: “Since we were elected in May we have prioritised taking the steps necessary to bring back weekly collections and scrap the blue and white sacks which have caused so much frustration.”