A green-thinking resident has slammed refuse collectors for throwing away recyclables with normal rubbish.

Pauline Gearey, of Chelmsford Road, Holland-on-Sea, watched in disgust as refuse collecters threw her paper, plastic and cans in with the rest of her waste - even though the recyclable waste was in white bags and the other rubbish in black bin-liners.

Veolia Environmental Services, which is contracted by Tendring Council to carry out kerbside collections, said its staff cannot tell what is in the bags without opening them and advised residents to put them "a few yards or so" apart.

Mrs Gearey said: "Veolia told me the bags were probably touching and the refuse collectors have to throw them in together. They told me to put the bags either side of the pavement to make sure."

Nigel Brown, communications manager at Tendring Council, said if bags were not clearly separated, the only way contractors can tell what is in them is to open them.