Southampton will lose a �420,000 grant if it fails to recycle enough

Council leaders are bringing back weekly general waste collections, after switching them to once a fortnight.

Green campaigners fear the move will encourage residents to dump more rubbish rather than wait for the fortnightly recycling collections.

However, council officials say the system led to growing rubbish levels.

We are representing the people of Southampton by saying we want to put the environment first Helen Dargan

Some 26,000 homes in Southampton have ordinary waste collected every other week and recyclables the next.

Helen Dargan, Sustainability Outreach Officer for Southampton Sustainability Forum, said: "We are not going to be able to change decisions overnight, but we want councillors to know we are keeping an eye on things and are concerned about financial and environmental implications.

"We are concerned that because the council has reverted back to weekly rubbish collections there will not be the incentive for people to recycle.

"We are pleased kerbside recycling will be rolled out throughout the city, but are representing the people of Southampton by saying we want to put the environment first."

A spokesperson from Southampton city council said: "The city council is working extremely hard to improve and expand its waste recycling programme and welcomes any event that will help to raise the public awareness of its importance".

The twin bin scheme started for 13,000 homes in Shirley, Basset and Swaythling in October 2003, then another 13,000 in Portswood in February 2004.

Council officials say the extra collection will cost �750,000 a year, including the cost of up to six new refuse lorries.

A recent MORI poll for the council found that 82% of people are satisfied with it.

Some 49,000 homes still have no doorstep recycling, although the council aims to begin the Twin bin fortnightly collections everywhere by September 2005.

Homes in Southampton threw away more than 100,000 tonnes of rubbish last year, almost 90% of which went to landfill sites.