Council moves bin collections to every three weeks
BBCBlack bin rubbish will now be collected by one West council every three weeks instead of fortnightly.
North Somerset Council said it would help the authority cut costs and also improve its current 55% recycling rate.
Recycling collections will continue weekly in new red bags, and North Somerset Council is set to become one of the first authorities in the UK to collect plastic bags and soft plastic wrapping.
"We've spent £4m on black bin collections last year but we could save £1m this year on reduced waste and recycling - that's a huge amount of money," said Annemieke Waite, cabinet member for planning and environment at the council.
"Councils are very strapped for cash and the cost of things like adult social services and children's services have gone up so much over the years and this is something that we can do to help our budgets," she added.
Last year, North Somerset Council estimated the average black bin collection contained 18% recyclable materials and 27% recyclable food waste.
Soft plastics including food packaging represent a significant amount of non-recyclable waste.
Somerset Council has been trialling the use of the new red bags for recycling and believes it could reduce the quantity of waste in black bins by as much as 10%.
The plan includes selling crisp packets and cling film to companies which turn them into other products.
North Somerset Council said exceptions could be made for households with circumstances that mean they produce more black bin waste, including families with babies.
"We're asking people to give it a go first because that's the right thing to do but from the end of this month there will be an application form online that they can fill out," said Ms Waite.
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