BIN men in Wyre Forest will work four days a week instead of five after proposals to cut their hours were given the green light.

Wyre Forest District Council carried out a review on refuse and recycling collections in the district in a bid to save cash.

Bin crews will still be working a 37-hour week but from Tuesday to Friday. There will not be a reduction in the frequency of collections but some collection days will change. The plans were given the go-ahead at a full council meeting.

Conservative councillor Marcus Hart, the district council’s cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: “Agreeing these new working arrangements will bring saving for the council and also benefits for the environment. “We are looking at the routes the crews take to make sure they are the most effective too.

“We’ve had the backing of the crews to make these changes and we want to continue to provide the best possible service we can with the resources we have available.

“We know how much residents value the service and a recent survey found more than 80 per cent of respondents were satisfied with it.”

It was also agreed at the meeting last Wednesday to bring medical waste collections in line with other collections and amend to a fortnightly service.

Medical waste collections are different from clinical waste as the bin content is sent to landfill like normal refuse.

The new working arrangements are expected to be introduced next spring.