A council could reduce how often it picks up household rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted to once a month despite Government proposals.
South Gloucestershire Council has asked potential suppliers for proposals based on collecting black bins every two, three and four weeks.
It is believed to have told Whitehall officials it favours a proposal to move from fortnightly to three-weekly collections in 2026.
The Government has proposed to include in guidance an ‘expectation that residual rubbish is collected at least fortnightly'.
South Gloucestershire believes there is ‘no other viable option to increase recycling substantially' without moving to three-weekly collections.
The council, which currently has a recycling rate of just under 60%, believes cutting the frequency of collections is ‘crucial' if it wants to meet its carbon reduction targets and increase the amount of waste recycled to 70% by 2030.
It has received external legal advice that it will ‘not be compulsory' to keep fortnightly collections if it has ‘cogent reasons'.
A council spokesperson said it would ‘consider residents' feedback' to a recently-completed consultation process.
