Changes to collection charges for bulky items are to begin from July 1, South Gloucestershire Council says.

The authority is to begin charging £15 per collection of up to three large items to “bring it into line” with other councils in the area.

Currently people living in Bradley Stoke can take advantage of one free collection a year before the £15 fee kicks in.

Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “Introducing this will bring us in line with other neighbouring councils and will also allow us to put additional funding into improving recycling and waste minimisation.”

• Related link: South Gloucestershire Council recycling information

Bradley Stoke and the rest of South Gloucestershire will get weekly waste food collection after the district council approved new rubbish and recycling policy.

According to the council, they are currently ranked fifth best for recycling for unitary authorities in the country at 39.5%.

With the new food collections the council expects this to rise another 9.5% with a target of 50% of waste recycled by 2010/11.

Elsewhere in the policy, the Stoke Gifford Sort It centre is to be upgraded and an extra £50,000 will be invested for more plastic bottle recycling sites.

A £15 charge is also to be introduced for the collection of bulky items which is currently a free service.

Some bin collection dates in Bradley Stoke are to change as South Gloucestershire Council reorganises routes in a bid to “improve efficiency”.

As we reported last month, changes are being made across the district, but at the time is was not clear if Bradley Stoke would be affected.

Southern areas of Bradley Stoke are to remain on Tuesday collections but forum correspondent Owen says central areas are to be moved from Thursday to Friday.

If you have had a leaflet telling you of changes please let us know via the comments facility.

Stephen Petrie, from SITA, added: “By reviewing the routes we aim to reduce missed collections and the likelihood of accidents on the roads.

“This work will also help us to prepare for more population growth and the addition of food waste collections in the future.”

Bin collections across South Gloucestershire are changing to “improve efficiency” and “give residents a more reliable service”.

The council says homes which have altered collection days will be informed by letter - although its not known if any in Bradley Stoke will face changes.

If days are not changed, though, the workers collecting the waste and recycling will “almost certainly be different”, so the times of the rounds will move.

Cllr Heather Goddard, executive member for communities, said: “The changes to the route will mean that for a majority of residents their collection days will need to change.”

Stephen Petrie, from SITA, added: “By reviewing the routes we aim to reduce missed collections and the likelihood of accidents on the roads.

“This work will also help us to prepare for more population growth and the addition of food waste collections in the future.”

The changes are due to be implemented from Monday, 10 March 2008.

If you get a letter telling us your bin collections days have changed then tell us: hit the comments on this post.