BINMEN on the Welsh side of the Wye will only take away two bags of rubbish on each collection as Monmouthshire Council tries to reduce the multi-million pound bill to bury waste.

The new system will come into force in July along with an £8-a-year per bag charge to remove green waste.

Monmouthshire Council says the new system will help slash the £3 million-a-year bill for sending the waste to landfill sites and help it meet ever-tougher recycling targets.

Although households in the county put out an average of between three and four bags for each fortnightly collection of non-recyclable waste, the council says 70 per cent of what is actually in the bags could be recycled.

Almost a third of waste going to landfill – residual waste in council jargon -- is food that is collected weekly by the council and can be made into compost.

Monmouthshire will become the first council in the country to introduce transparent waste bags that will allow binmen to see what is inside and possibly report householders.

The council will also increase the collection of nappies – for people who are registered with the service – to once a week.

Councillor Brian Jones, who has responsibility for waste services, said: "If materials that could be recycled goes into residual waste then we will work with householders.

"People will not be fined for putting recyclables in with the residual waste but we will advise them on what they should be doing.

"A lot of recyclable material still goes into black bags.

"It costs a lot to send waste to landfill – we are effectively chucking £3 million a year into a hole in the ground.

"We want the public to help us save them money by recycling better."

The county's waste manager Rachel Jowitt said the new system could save taxpayers £600,000 a year.

Every household in the county will be given a starter pack containing a year's worth of transparent sacks in a hessian shopping bag in June.

•A petition asking the Forest of Dean District Council to introduce kerbside plastic and cardboard collections has reached 607 signatures but must top 800 by the end of the month – log into the council website and navigate to epetitions if you wish to respond.