FIFTY fines have so far been issued to Keighley people for flouting new stricter bin collection rules, it has been revealed.

The new restrictions, which bar people from leaving extra bin bags for collection, have been piloted in Keighley and began rolling out across the district yesterday.

The changes mean Bradford Council will only collect one general-waste green bin per household each week, and lids must be shut.

Anyone who fails to abide by the rules will receive a warning letter and then face a £60 fine if they continue to ignore the regulation.

The council says that in Keighley, the move has seen recycling rates increase by ten per cent, with more than 4,000 new recycling bins delivered.

More changes are due from April 2017, when the council will move to fortnightly general waste collections to save cash and boost recycling rates further.

Councillor Imran Khan, whose portfolio at the council includes both waste management and sustainability matters, said 50 per cent of district waste was recycled, but he had ambitions to get this to more than 70 per cent. He added this was important not just for environmental reasons but because burning waste or sending it to landfill was very expensive.

“Just a ten per cent increase would save us somewhere in the region of £1m. How much money are we currently burning and throwing into landfill?” he asked.

Cllr Khan said that over 12 months he wanted to investigate ways of expanding types of materials the council collects for recycling. He also hopes to find ways of making recycling at home easier, so people don’t have to sort their recycling into different compartments as they currently do.

The chairman of a committee which scrutinises the council’s recycling performance welcomed progress.

Councillor Martin Love, of the environment and waste overview committee, said: “I’m pleased Cllr Khan has got these sorts of ambitions and I will do everything I can to help him realise them.

“It is a difficult one, because people will be used to a different way of operating, but given the costs involved in disposing of people’s waste and the benefits you can get from recycling - both environmental and financial - we have got to move to getting stricter with people. A huge number of people in the district already recycle everything they possibly can and do a great job, and they should be thanked and applauded, but we really ought to move on to those who don’t.”