IT’S been a long-running battle – and now Basingstoke and Deane borough councillors are being urged to back a new plan of action in a bid to drive up the area’s ailing recycling rate.

The borough council continues to be one of the worst-performing local authorities in Hampshire, and the country, for recycling.

Annual figures published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show the amount of waste sent for recycling, composting or reuse between April 2013 and March 2014 stayed at the same level as the previous year – 25 per cent.

Despite the static figure, Basingstoke and Deane remains the fourth worst local authority in the county for the amount of rubbish it recycles – and it is the 17th worst in the country.

Now, in a bid to improve the flagging recycling rate, borough council environment chief Councillor Hayley Eachus has announced a series of initiatives which she hopes will be approved by fellow councillors and will encourage residents across Basingstoke and Deane to make more of an effort to recycle.

As part of the scheme, the borough council is set to adopt a “three strikes and you’re out” approach which will see the borough council banning garden waste and recyclable materials from grey refuse bins across Basingstoke and Deane.

Amber hangers will be placed on refuse bins which are found to contain recyclable materials on the first and second occasion, but if recyclable materials are found by crews on a third occasion, a red hanger will be placed on the bin and it will not be collected.

In a bid to educate residents about recycling, letters will be sent to those who fail to toe the line and, in some cases, a council officer will visit a problem home to find out why those living there are not recycling, and will pass on information on what can and can’t be recycled.

Referring to the plan of action, Cllr Eachus told The Gazette: “I think the measures go as far as they possibly can without upsetting residents.

“At the end of the day, we cannot continue to collect waste weekly if people do not try to sort out what can and cannot be recycled. People can’t keep binning recyclable materials.

“A lot of the time it is about education. It is about working with residents to encourage them to recycle more and make them realise that we cannot continue to offer a brilliant service and keep everyone happy without stamping down a bit.”

Cllr Eachus added: “We will write to an individual, where necessary, but we want to encourage more face-to-face interaction where officers from the recycling team will go to the person.

“I don’t expect crews to go rummaging through the bins but if recyclable items are found at the top of the bin, or when it is emptied grass comes out, we are going to stick an amber hanger on it.”

The borough council is also planning to issue new properties built across Basingstoke and Deane with smaller 140-litre refuse bins, and any existing properties wanting a replacement refuse bin will only be issued with the smaller bin. At present, the standard size bin is 240-litres.

In addition, residents will also be given the opportunity to purchase a 140-litre bin to recycle their glass instead of crates and the first 1,000 bins will be given free of charge.

Cllr Eachus added: “I wouldn’t say absolutely no but when you look at the report, to roll 140-litre bins out to every single household would cost £1.7million and that is a lot of money, especially when there are a whole heap of issues around the borough, such as keeping council tax low.”

Councillors on the community, environment and partnerships committee will be asked to comment on the new proposals next Wednesday before the decision-making Cabinet makes a final decision on whether to give them the green light.