The move towards fortnightly rubbish collections was yesterday defended by town hall bosses, who claimed new figures showed it encouraged recycling.
Bromsgrove and Lichfield were held up as examples of communities where residents had gone green after weekly collections were abolished.
The Local Government Association, which represents local authorities, said recycling increased by a third when householders had to wait two weeks for bins to be emptied.
Fortnightly collections have been highly controversial, and a recent report in the journal Science of the Total Environment claimed decaying rubbish in warm weather could be a danger to public health. Refuse provided a breeding ground for spores which could cause asthma, nausea and allergies, the report said.
But yesterday the Local Government Association published a survey showing that all 10 of the councils with the highest recycling rates in the country have adopted fortnightly collections. They include Lichfield, where 45 per cent of waste is composted or recycled, compared with only 25 per cent nationally.
And eight out of the 10 councils with the most improved recycling rates also use the system.
This includes Bromsgrove, where recycling rates rose from 24.17 per cent of total rubbish in 2004/05 to 40.6 per cent in 2005/06.
On average, 30 per cent of household waste is recycled or composted in council areas with alternate weekly collections, and only 23 per cent in areas where bins are emptied weekly.
A spokeswoman for Birmingham City Council said: "Waste collection is done on a weekly basis in Birmingham. There are no plans to go fortnightly."
City residents generate 458,917 tonnes of waste each year and recycle 75,607 tonnes, 16.5 per cent of the total.
LGA Chairman Sandy Bruce Lockhart said: "With landfill taxes set to rise dramatically in the coming five years, there will be more pressure on councils to cut the amount of rubbish that gets thrown into landfill.
"The National Audit Office has estimated that unless landfill rates drop dramatically in the coming years then councils, and the taxpayer, will have to pay fines of £200 million."
He added: "Britain is the dustbin of Europe with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent.
"For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about environmental consequences or rising costs. Those days are now over.
"Councils are listening to local residents and taking action over their concerns about protecting the environment and helping tackle climate change."
Other authorities to adopt fortnightly collections included Dudley - but the town's residents recycle only 18.4 per cent of waste, far below the national average.
Redditch in Worcestershire has also scrapped weekly collections, but residents recycle on 16.9 per cent of rubbish.
Conservatives claim councils have been "bullied" into ending weekly collections because of tough Government recycling targets and higher taxes on waste sent to landfill sites.
