Oxford's residents have a final chance to have their say over the controversial fortnightly rubbish collections at a series of public meetings.

Over the next six weeks the public can quiz a council panel which has worked on the scheme. Oxford City Council hopes these question and answer sessions across the city will help ease concerns about the new system.

Residents main worry is that by delaying the collection, bins will get infested with maggots and make them a target for flies and rats.

Other councils around the country have had this problem and earlier this year a council advised Oxford to "stay weekly", with a Bolton councillor warning people were more upset over the introduction of fortnightly waste collections than when the poll tax was introduced.

But out of 362 councils in the UK about half use fortnightly collections. They have found they are a success in boosting recycling rates and are popular with the public. Another 73 are reported to be considering a change.

A city council spokesman said: "Oxford currently recycles around 19 per cent of its waste. We hope that the new services will at least double that and with strong support from residents, push the rate beyond 40 per cent.

"The presentations at the area committees are for residents to ask questions about the new scheme. We will give answers as far as possible and frequently asked questions will appear on our website."

The council has modelled its proposals on Cherwell District Council where the change in collections from a weekly system increased the amount of rubbish recycled to 43 per cent and 93 per cent of the public rated the service as good value for money.

Oxford's scheme will be introduced in two stages. Firstly, by making the garden waste and cardboard collections available citywide during September. The second stage will start in November when new wheelie bins will be delivered.

The first meeting is today (Wed) at 5.30pm in the town hall.