Tory pledge on bin collections

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As activists gathered in Birmingham for the party's annual conference, Mr Pickles said that there would be an "expectation" under a Conservative administration that councils collect the bins every week.

The Tories estimate that between seven and eight million households in England are currently on fortnightly collections.

A return to full weekly collections could cost up to £121 million, according to the party's calculations.

Mr Pickles said that the money would be found by scrapping a series of quangos and other local government bureaucracy.

An incoming Conservative administration would also reverse any move by the current Government to impose a "bin tax", he said.

"Gordon Brown is making it increasingly hard for families to throw away their waste responsibly," he said.

"Despite soaring levels of council tax, local residents are being hit by cuts to collections, over-zealous use of bin fines and the prospect of expensive new bin taxes which will push up the cost of living.

"Conservatives believe that decent rubbish collections are a vital front-line council service to help protect the local environment and public health.

"We will provide funding for those councils that wish to introduce proper weekly rubbish collections, on top of comprehensive recycling services."