Colchester: recycler 'told to trash plastics'

4:21pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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A MAN claims he was told to trash his recyclable rubbish - by staff at a recycling centre.

Steve Woods cannot understand why his civic amenity centre has no facilities for plastics when they can normally be re-used.

He collects plastic items like yoghurt pots and milk bottles and puts them out every other Friday for recycling.

However, Mr Woods missed the latest doorstep collection because of last week's bank holiday changes.

He drove to the civic amenity centre in Shrub End, Colchester, on Monday to try to dispose of them there.

Mr Woods, of Prettygate, said: "I asked a member of staff where I should put them and he said they just went in with all the non-recyclable stuff.

"I had laboriously collected all the items for two weeks so they could be recycled, only to have to throw them away and feel guilty about it.

"I've no complaint about the council - I think they do a good job - but I just don't understand this."

Colchester Council runs the doorstep collections and accepts all plastics, whereas Essex County Council runs the civic amenity centres and does not.

A spokesman for the county council said: "Plastic is more difficult to recycle than some other materials, and the type of plastic that is collected differs across the county.

"At our recycling centres we only collect plastic bottles for recycling."

She added: "We do encourage as much recycling as possible, and it is always good to hear that residents are taking up that challenge.

"Kerbside recycling is one of the easiest ways to recycle and we would always encourage residents to make full use of their collections."