A four-day working week is to be implemented for refuse workers across North Yorkshire as part of a harmonisation of waste services.
Staff will continue to work full-time hours but these will be spread across just four days, with the refuse collection teams working from Tuesday to Friday.
Council chiefs are confident the new system will deliver service improvements, with staff not having to work on Saturdays to catch up every time there is a Bank Holiday.
Consultations with union representatives suggest the change will also be popular with staff, bosses say.
Refuse workers in some parts of the county were already working a four-day week under the old borough and district councils.
But the system will now be rolled out across North Yorkshire as part of a harmonisation following the launch of the unitary authority.
The change will also include new alternative fortnightly collections for recycling as standard.
Households will see one collection for paper and card and one for all other recyclable materials, including glass, cans, plastics and cartons on alternate fortnights.
Council chiefs say separating the recycling allows the council to increase the amount and quality of recycling collected at the kerbside, reduce the cost of collection, and help towards carbon reduction.
Non-recyclable waste will continue to be collected every two weeks.
This model of collection already takes place in the Selby area.
The changes will see thousands of residents move from boxes and bags for their recycling to wheelie bins, with the new system to be introduced in the Malton area this summer and then rolled out across the county elsewhere over the next two to three years.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for managing our environment, Cllr Greg White, whose responsibilities include waste services, said:
“We have reviewed our recycling service to ensure it continues to provide the best value for money for taxpayers and is fit for purpose.
“We are making sure we do everything we can to increase recycling rates and contribute to our plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
“The new model will also mean that everyone across North Yorkshire receives the same service, regardless of where they live.
“We are now writing to all residents in Malton and the surrounding area, advising them to keep an eye out for their wheelie bins, which will be delivered in the coming weeks.
“As we’ve got more than 50,000 bins to provide to households, it will take us a couple of months to deliver them all. So, residents should continue to use their existing boxes until they’re told when their new collections start.”
Council chiefs have estimated the initial cost of implementing the changes will be about £8m over the next five years.
The changes could however save the authority about £560,000 per year, officers claim.
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