RESIDENTS will be given the chance to decide if new recycling ideas are "rubbish" or not.

Householders will be asked to vote for one of several options to deal with recyclable material in a referendum planned for the autumn.

Council Leader David Cartwright said the council was hoping to build on last year's recycling success - but added more work was needed to meet higher targets.

He said: "We don't want to impose anything unnecessarily on residents, so we are allowing them to decide for themselves which recycling option is best.

"We are all affected by our environment and nothing will be done without public support and the public vote."

Reducing the number of refuse collections was one of the options outlined in a recent report.

The report said fortnightly refuse collections were becoming more popular with local authorities, including Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest, and were "dramatically" increasing recycling material in addition to saving money.

Reducing the size of bins from 240-180 litres is another option to encourage residents to recycle as many materials as possible and minimise waste.

Mr Cartwright said further ideas were also being explored and the council planned to make public displays and distribute leaflets to residents before putting options to the public vote.