A NORTH-EAST city council says budget pressures mean it cannot continue with a weekly rubbish collection.

Sunderland City Council is now consulting on collecting landfill bins up to every three weeks and recycling waste once a month, after seeing £207m cut from its budget in the last six years by the Government.

The authority is facing a predicted Government cut of a further £110m by 2020.

Unveiling the consultation, Council Leader, Cllr Paul Watson, said: “We’re facing some really hard choices. Given the level of saving needed, we’re going to have to radically rethink some of the things we do and this will inevitably impact on the services we provide.”

Lib Dems council hopeful Niall Hodson said: “We all know the council needs to make savings, but collecting rubbish from green wheelie bins only once every three weeks would be a step too far.

“Local people shouldn’t have to put up with rotting rubbish sitting in bins, before it is collected.”

City council portfolio holder for city services, Cllr Michael Mordey said: “The City Council is currently in a process of consultation.

“We have put to residents wide ranging options in relation to a whole range of services and have asked them to help decide what our priorities should be as we face up to unprecedented budgets cuts.

“Mr Hodson should wait until the consultation has ended before he starts his campaign of scare tactics.

“The city council will continue to listen to what the people of Sunderland have to say and will look closely at the findings of this most recent consultation and will come forward with a legal balanced budget for next year.”

The consultation document says weekly collection of landfill rubbish has been made possible with a government grant, with funding until March 2017. The authority cannot afford to keep collecting refuse weekly after that. Last year, there was support for less frequent collections, it adds.

As part of the consultation the council are asking residents if they would be happy with collections of green bins every two weeks or every three weeks and collecting recycling every four weeks.

The budget consultation is online at: www.sunderland.gov.uk/budget-survey.

*Fife Council in Scotland is the first in the UK to begin trialling once-a-month collections for landfill bins, with recycling bins and food waste taken more often.