The council has cut its annual rubbish collections by 94% thanks to an innovative new waste disposal system.

A report revealed that Cheshire West and Chester Council is the UK’s most efficient user of the Bigbelly smart waste units.

The borough’s 60 smart waste units, which replaced 72 traditional bins in 2015, were 98% effective last year.

Since the installation the council has reduced its annual collections from 209,160 to 12,801.

The high-tech design enables the council to place waste, recycling and even compost stations that meet the needs of each location.

At the core of the system is the cloud-based Clean management console which delivers both real-time and historical collection data.

Cabinet member for environment, Cllr Karen Shore, said: “As a council we work extremely hard to be innovative, provide exceptional environments for those who live and work within the area and be as sustainable as we possibly can.

“The report not only shows that the system is working but also that it is delivering huge efficiency gains for the council.

“As a result, we are now able to reinvest the time and resource saved by emptying Bigbelly’s Smart Stations only when necessary into enhancing other elements of the urban realm.”

The recent efficiency rating is based on the number of collections made when the units are full. The more empties made when the units are full, the higher the efficiency rating.

Unlike traditional bins which are emptied regardless of whether they are full or not, each station alerts collection teams when it requires emptying.

They also notify collection teams when they are not full and can be missed off the collection round.

Mark Jenkins at Bigbelly sales operators Egbert Taylor Group said: “Cheshire West and Chester Council has demonstrated that by embracing Bigbelly and being able to make decisions based on up-to-the-minute data that each unit gathers, it is not only eliminating overfull bins in busy public spaces but also enabling the council’s resources and budgets to go a lot further.”

Bigbelly’s solar compaction technology increases its collection capacity up to 808 litres when full, further reducing collection frequencies.

It also cuts the operational cost of waste collection, vehicle movements and carbon emissions.