ABANDONING the controversial alternate weekly bin collection scheme would destroy the huge leaps forward the borough has made in recycling, a leading councillor warned.

Cllr Roger Hayes, Liberal Democrat executive member for environmental services at Bolton Council, hit out at the two opposition groups for pledging to reintroduce weekly collections of residual waste if they seize control of the town hall at May's election.

Cllr Hayes said: "Re-introducing weekly collection would get people out of the habit of recycling.

"All the experts say that a return to a weekly collection of residual waste would be followed by a drop in the level of recycling.

"Introducing the new system is costing more than the previous system of just collecting the residual waste weekly, but it is a lot cheaper than paying the Government penalties for failing to reach the recycling targets.

"In some areas recycling rates are as high as 40 per cent."

Under the present scheme, grey wheelie bins for normal household rubbish are collected every two weeks, with recycling containers for such as tins, glass and garden rubbish, collected in alternate weeks. The council is on course to reach the 20 per cent Government target for recycling by March - an overall rise of more than seven per cent since the scheme was introduced in June 2005.

But Cllr Hayes warned that it would also need to be in a position to meet the 33 per cent target that comes into force in 2010/11 and the 50 per cent target which will come after that.

And he warned that Labour and Tory proposals to reintroduce weekly collections would cost an extra £2.5 million - equivalent to a 3.19 per cent increase in Council Tax.

Labour has threatened to "take measures" against the minority Lib Dems administration unless it abandons the scheme, claiming it does have the backing of the council.

But Cllr Hayes has vowed to push on with the scheme which he said his group would look to improve in months to come.