Labour in Fife has made a surprise pledge to ditch four weekly bin collections in its local election manifesto.
It follows a successful pilot project in Glenrothes, where the move was shown to increase recycling rates and reduce landfill.
There was mounting speculation the trial in Thornton and Stenton would lead to the scheme being rolled out, despite Fife Council maintaining no decisions had been taken.
But Fife Labour leader David Ross said there had been “deep rooted public hostility” to the plans and they would not be taken forward.
With the local elections just days away, Labour was accused of using the issue for political gain.
The local SNP group said Labour was “willing to promise anything to chase a headline.”
And Fife Liberal Democrat leader Tim Brett said the outcome of the trial, where blue landfill bins were emptied once every four weeks, should have been discussed at committee.
Councillor Tim Brett said: “I’m disappointed by this because these proposals had not been shared with other parties.
“David is using this to try to gain political advantage, but it is important that all groups have a proper discussion about it.
“I hope the report will be brought to a meeting soon after the election.”
Dave Dempsey, who leads the Conservatives in Fife, said if Mr Ross had based his decision on feedback from the pilot not seen by other councillors “that should not have happened”.
He added: “We want to increase recycling and we want to do it in a way that the public is happy with.
“Labour has a track record of doing things to people rather than with them.”
As part of the trial, three weekly bin collections were trialled in Markinch and Coaltown of Balgonie.
A total of 4,000 households were included in the pilot, which drew six formal complaints.
Mr Ross said, “There is deep rooted public hostility to this approach and it just won’t work if it isn’t accepted by the public.
“Yes, we want to drive up recycling rates, but we need to convince people it’s the right thing to do, not impose something on them that they have real concerns about.
“People are telling me that they want cans and plastics picked up more frequently but are concerned about only having a blue bin collection once every four weeks.
“Experience is now telling us that a single one size fits all approach to bin collections across Fife isn’t helping.”
Depute SNP group leader Karen Marjoram said: “Fife Labour are clearly willing to promise anything to chase a headline, given they don’t have enough candidates to form an administration to honour those commitments.
“The SNP have committed to work with communities to find solutions to waste and recycling that works best for them. So we will await the outcome of the current consultation on refuse collection and listen to the views Fifers before jumping to any hasty decision.
“Labour’s announcement is yet another example of them arrogantly deciding what Fifers want without listening.”
