Residents of Helensburgh and Lomond will soon find their bin collections reduced to one day every three weeks due to budget cuts.

Argyll and Bute Council is hoping that the cut from the current fortnightly collections will encourage people to recycle more - although there will be no increase in the collection of recyclable materials to compensate for the less frequent pickups for green wheelie bins.

And households in the area will have to put their green bins out before 6am on collection days to make sure the contents are uplifted.

However, there's no exact date yet for when the new regime will come into effect.

A new 'operational service procedure' for bin collections across Argyll and Bute was set to be approved by the council on Thursday, as this issue of the Advertiser went on sale.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We don’t have a date as yet as plans are still being developed at this stage.”

The move towards three-weekly 'green bin' uplifts was approved in February as part of a £5.2 million package of budget cuts.

According to a report on the new procedure ,the Scottish Environment Protection Agency says there should be no risk to public health as long as people continue to wrap their waste and keep the lid of their green bid firmly closed.

The report states: “Argyll and Bute Council is committed to increasing recycling. By recycling more we are helping to save the planet's natural resources, save energy, reduce landfill costs and reduce the effects of climate change.”

The new model will see collections in the Helensburgh and Lomond area reorganised into a two-shift pattern, meaning green wheelie bins could be uplifted at any time between 6am and 10pm.

Weekly collections of food waste, and four-weekly uplifts of glass, in the area are unaffected by the change.

The change is expected to save the council £457,000 in 2016-17 and £548,000 next year and in future years.