From June this year, residents in Three Rivers can expect to pay more than a hundred pounds a year for the use of a second food waste bin.

Residents can currently use two brown bins for organic waste, and one green bin for “residual” or non-recyclable waste.

From Monday 13 June, the brown bin collection will be increased to every week, and the green bin will be decreased to every fortnight.

There will be a £104 a year charge for any additional brown bins, which Three Rivers District Council claims will prevent overloading of organic waste collection with garden waste.

Councillor Phil Brading, cabinet member for public Services and health, said: “There should be very little need for a second brown bin, and people with gardens can do some composting.

“We currently spend only £1.89 per week, per household, on collecting your refuse and recycling and this is likely to decrease over the next few years.”

The scheme has been criticised by Conservative councillor David Sansom, who accused the council of using “bully boy tactics” to force people to recycle.

He suggested the saving for the council, expected to be about £234,000, was pure guesswork.

He added: “They think that a large number of residents with two brown bins are going to be prepared to pay to keep the second bin, even when their first bin is now going to be emptied weekly.

“You are going to upset a lot of residents, the working population and the young families are going to find this impossible to live with, it is going to cause a lot of anger.

Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, said: “I'm disappointed in David Sansom, clearly he hasn't read the public service papers or remembered the conversation.

“We will achieve the budget and may in fact over achieve it. With the brown bin, we are saying you may not need it, we'll take it back, but if you can keep it if you want to pay for it.”

As well as composting items such as vegetable peelings and cereal boxes, free recycling boxes are available for paper, glass and all plastics.