A MOVE to close all mixed plastic recycle banks across Basingstoke and Deane has been labelled as “rubbish”.

As of today, all Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council 29 mixed plastic bring banks will be closed as its contractor does not deem them to be cost effective anymore.

The reason for the closure has been cited as a “drop in the market” for recycling mixed plastics such as tubs, pots and trays.

However, critics have said that the announcement is irresponsible for the borough council to take, with a petition set up calling for the decision to be reversed.

Brookvale and King’s Furlong ward councillor Jack Cousens said: “With [the borough having] one of the worst recycling rates in the country, the decision to remove these bins is shocking.

“While other councils strive to find improvement, Basingstoke Tories seem content to do the bare minimum and make excuses for our poor recycling performance.

“Rather than hide behind rubbish excuses, the portfolio holder needs to do more to tackle this problem.”

However, cabinet member for regulatory services and the environment at the borough council, Cllr Hayley Eachus, said the decision was not taken lightly and her approach was to be open and honest with residents.

Cllr Eachus said: “As it stands, Printwaste [the contractor] collects the waste and takes it up north to be incinerated.

“If I was a resident who thought I was doing a good deed by recycling my plastic, to find out it’s going up north to be burnt, I would be pretty annoyed.

“I wanted to be honest with residents and for this petition to be set up is effectively saying my decision is wrong and that is unfair.”

The petition was set up by Basingstoke Transition Network (BTN), which aims to move towards a greener way of living in Basingstoke and Deane.

The petition has already been signed by more that 650 people.

Martin Heath, from BTN said: “This is stepping away from our responsibility to recycle, Basingstoke should have the aspirations to be a greener and cleaner borough.

“We need to look at the amount of waste we have in general, as you cannot cut corners when it comes to the environment.”

Until a sustainably viable option is found, the borough council is urging residents to put their mixed plastic wastes in their grey bins, which will then be sent to the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Chineham to be used to supply energy for the borough.

Cllr Eachus added: “It is important that the items we collect at these banks are being recycled or, if this is not possible, then the most efficient and environmentally-friendly method of disposal used.

“I would like to encourage residents to continue to recycle clean plastic bottles including drink bottles, shampoo and bleach bottles in their kerbside green bin and place all other plastics in their grey waste bin.”

Printwaste, the contractor for the borough council, said to recycle these types of plastic has become an unsustainable market, leading to more local authorises taking this decision.

Geoff Quayle, sales director at Printwaste, said: “This isn’t just a Basingstoke issue, this is an issue across the country.

“Companies no longer want to buy mixed plastic waste as it contains different chemicals making it harder to recycle, it is therefore harder for us to shift the waste one.

“Rather than stockpiling the waste it makes sense to incinerate it because then at least you are getting energy from it.”

The borough council has encouraged residents to continue to recycle clean plastic via green bins, collected fortnightly from homes.

To view the petition, go to change.org/p/cllr-hayley-eachus-more-recycling-and-less-waste-in-basingstoke.