A NEW deal could see Thurrock households return to having one bin, rather than three.

Thurrock Council could also save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year by negotiating a new arrangement on the disposal of household waste.

The council is considering an agreement with a new firm setting up at the Port of Tilbury to dispose of grey bin waste.

That contract is currently managed by FCC Environment and runs until March 2017 at a cost of about £4million a year, but could be ended early for about £500,000.

FCC has hinted it might be able to reduce the price of the contract by £360,000 per year, but the council has also held initial discussions with a new firm setting up at Tilbury, which has quoted a significantly lower price.

The company’s new plant is likely to open in January, but any new arrangement with the council would have to start in September 2015. It is not yet clear how much the council would save, but it would be at least £360,000a year.

John Kent, leader of the council, said: “This is a matter of taking advantage of what is a more competitive market.

“There is a new facility opening in Tilbury, which means we can cut the current transportation costs of residual waste from here toMedway.

“It also has a new process where it will sort the waste and take out anything that is recyclable.

It can get something for that waste and is therefore able to charge us less.

“This means Thurrock would be generating virtually no landfill waste.

“On the face of it, this seems to be what we’ve been looking for for some time.”

He added: “Does that mean we could return to having just the one bin collection?

“I don’t know. I just put it forward as something I would like to see.”