A VALLEYS council is set to introduce wheelie bins in the borough, at a cost of more than £500,000.

The plan by Blaenau Gwent Council is part of its drive to revolutionise waste collection.

Each council in Wales has to reduce the amount of waste put into landfill and to achieve this, Blaenau Gwent has put into place a number of measures. These include plastic, cardboard and food waste recycling among other things.

Following the success of the recycling schemes, the next phase is to roll out the wheelie bins.

The idea behind the bins is to reduce the problems associated with manual handling through collecting black bags and it will mean bags are no longer left out on the street where they are exposed to animals.

The bins come in three sizes - 120 litres, 240 litres and 360 litres and will cost the council £16.70, £18.25 and £38 each to buy.

Most households will be entitled to the 240 litre size, which holds 3-4 black bags.

People living along will receive the 120 litre bin and large families the 360 litre bin.

In total 29,000 bins will be bought at a cost of £551,150, which will be paid for by the council borrowing the funds.

One the scheme is fully rolled out in the borough in the Autumn, the plan is then to reduce non-recyclable waste collection to once a fortnight and therefore encouraging people to recycle more.

The money borrowed will be repaid by savings made by downsizing the existing collection service.

The proposal, which is due to be rubber-stamped by the executive committee tomorrow afternoon, follows a successful pilot scheme run in Beaufort and Brynmawr.