ECO-friendly taxpayers are on course to save themselves hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The cost of providing a recycling service in Tendring is more than £1.2 million.

However, the district council gets recycling credits from Essex County Council – worth £50.82 per tonne of waste it diverts from landfill – which it deducts from the final bill.

Latest figures show the district council received £444,512 for the period from April 1 to October 7.

It means Tendring Council is on course to recoup almost £900,000 in recycling credits.

In 2007/08, Tendring Council received £629,714 in recycling credits and only had to pay for 48 per cent of its recycling service.

The figure for 2008/09 could be as low as 35 per cent and could result in a £200,000-plus saving on last year.

Nigel Brown, Tendring Council’s communications manager, said: “The latest figure is a measure of how well our residents are performing.

“We want to encourage people living in Tendring to keep up the excellent work, keep participating and ensure they put the right waste in their recycling box – that is paper, cardboard, cans and plastic containers, and nothing else.”

He said it was anticipated that the overall cost of providing the recycling service in Tendring would rise in line with inflation in 2008/09.

Mr Brown said the council was taking part in an initiative with Essex County Council to increase recycling rates in two parts of Clacton.

Full story in today's Gazette