Shared bins plan to deal with leftovers in Wolverhampton

Residents will be asked to put food scraps in separate bags away from the rest of their rubbish.They will then be put into shared bins.

The communal skips would have sealed entrance holes to prevent smells and vermin.

The scheme for so-called "bring banks" emerged as part of plans for the city council to use a £2.68 million government grant to preserve weekly bin collections.

Food waste recycling was rolled out to 98,000 houses two years ago when residents were given buckets for their kitchens and gardens.

But it has not been possible to introduce the scheme at thousands of properties in the city, including flats.

Council spokesman Tim Clark said the council wants to increase recycling rates and added: "People would be able to place bagged food waste into a large communal bin which would be locked and have a sealed entrance hole for hygiene.

"This is very much an idea in its infancy and we would want to pilot any scheme before a mass roll-out. It is envisaged this would be a purely voluntary scheme for those people who wish to participate."

But David Poyner, chairman of the Vauxhall Residents Association and a resident of Vauxhall House flats near West Park, said: "It seems a good idea but it would be very difficult to do.

"It would need the co-operation of a lot of people."