More than three-quarters of families are waiting at least a fortnight for their bins to be collected.
Many homes have waste taken away only every three weeks as authorities try to encourage recycling instead.
But despite the move, which has even seen some areas of Scotland shift to monthly collections, recycling rates fell last year for the first time.
Figures show 248 of 326 English councils run general rubbish rounds fortnightly, though some collect recycling every week.
More than three-quarters of families are waiting at least a fortnight for their bins to be collected (file photo)
Town halls are trying to hit EU targets of a recycling rate of 50 per cent by 2020. Last month Wigan became the latest to shift to collections every three weeks, which the local authority says will save up to £2million a year.
Karl Battersby, of Wigan Council, said: ‘Recycling helps us to keep council tax low, protects frontline staff, for example school crossing patrols, and ensures we can continue to fund essential services.
‘If the borough doesn’t hit its recycling target of 50 per cent by 2020 it could be fined which may result in cuts to other services.’
Wigan joins East Devon, Salford, Rochdale and Oldham in collecting every three weeks – a move that is being piloted in North Devon as well, a Freedom of Information request found.
James Price, of The TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Rubbish collections are one of the key services residents expect and rely on, and this trend will strike most people as very unwelcome.
‘Too often councils prioritise completely unnecessary services and non-jobs when they should be focusing on core services. With council tax going up across most parts of the country, and the overall tax burden at a 30-year high, receiving an even less-frequent service will rightly upset many taxpayers.’
Weekly collections were commonplace until the last Labour government allowed councils to take rubbish fortnightly.
Since then, falling collection rates have been blamed for an increase in rodents attracted by overflowing bins and other health hazards in many cities.
Many homes have waste taken away only every three weeks as authorities try to encourage recycling instead (file photo)
In 2012, the Tories pledged to restore the ‘fundamental right’ of families to have their bins emptied every seven days, and a £250million fund was set up to maintain weekly collections.
But the Conservatives were forced to abandon the plans to bring back weekly bin collections two years ago, amid swingeing budget constraints.
Yesterday Martin Tett, of the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said there was no ‘one size fits all’ solution to collections. But he said local authorities knew a ‘reliable and efficient’ waste and recycling service was hugely important.
He also said a survey had shown eight in ten people were happy with their bin collections, regardless of the frequency with which they were picked up.
The Department for Communities and Local Government said its four-year funding settlement gave local authorities £200billion – money that the councils could choose to spend on bin collections. A spokesman said: ‘It is vital they consider the wishes of their residents, many of whom want to see their bins collected as frequently as possible.’
- k.pickles@dailymail.co.uk