Tower Hamlets Council is changing the way it collects rubbish from residents and businesses in a bid to stop piles of waste sitting on its streets for extended periods.

From December, residents and businesses in certain areas will be given two-hour daily time slots during which to put out their rubbish, with the council issuing warnings to those who put it out at any other times.

The new service will run twice daily meaning two separate two-hour time slots are allocated on whatever your bin day is, and will run from Monday through to Sunday.

Residents and businesses on time banded streets can check their allocated time slots on the council’s website. Bins will then be collected within two hours of the end of the time slot.

East India Dock Road in Poplar has the earliest collection slot – between 5.25am and 7.25am, or alternatively people can put their rubbish out from 4.05pm to 6.05pm.

The changes were officially approved at an October full council meeting.

The council hopes the new service will significantly reduce "visual clutter" on its streets, will help to improve overall street cleanliness and attractiveness and will clamp down on people illegally dumping rubbish.

Shafi Ahmed, cabinet member for environment and the climate emergency, said: “We are introducing these changes because we have seen how well they work in other busy areas of London and we are determined to deliver a service that meets the needs of our busy high street areas.

“The council will be working hard to ensure residents and businesses are aware and informed of the changes over the next few months.”

Tower Hamlets is the latest local authority to introduce timed waste collections, with Barnet, Enfield, Newham, Hackney, and the City of London already adopting the service across town centres and busy roads.

The council has said if businesses close before the evening time collection, they can store their rubbish in their premises overnight so it’s ready for the morning collection.

Residents are also not allowed to leave their rubbish out the night before, and will be given a warning by the council if they leave waste outside of their specific time slots.

The council has said it will monitor the scheme for 12 months before it decides whether to continue or expand the service to other streets.