More than 2million people across England will have to wait an extra week to have their bins emptied after Labour dropped a pledge to maintain fortnightly collections.
A vast swathe of the country is switching to having non-recyclable waste picked up every three weeks, analysis by the Daily Mail has found, despite warnings of increased fly-tipping and and more rat infestations.
The move comes in spite of many of the local authorities concerned increasing council tax bills by the maximum amount this year - and in the face of opposition from as many as 84 per cent of residents.
Among the areas grappling with having to wait longer to have refuse picked up are parts of Hertfordshire, where residents yesterday branded the new system 'chaotic' and said they 'cannot cope'.
Under what some councils are branding the '1-2-3' system, food waste is collected once a week, recyclables once a fortnight and 'residual' waste every three weeks.
