�Residents are being charged for green sacks even though a majority of garden recycling ends up in landfill, according to a councillor.

People in Havering who want to have their green waste collected for recycling from their homes can subscribe to a green bin scheme or purchase green sacks.

Mixed up

The contents of green bins are composted, but green sacks are collected with black sacks and taken to the same waste facility.

Cllr Clarence Barrett (Cranham, RA), said: “Residents may well be under the impression that the contents of the sacks are composted in the same way as the green wheelie bins. However, this is not the case.

“It beggars belief that residents are paying �1.15 for each of these sacks when the contents are just mixed up with food and general waste only for the majority to end up in landfill.

“We should be doing more to recycle and compost, not only from an environmentally sound perspective, but also to avoid escalating disposal and landfill tax charges.”

But Havering Council says the green and black sacks are taken to a mechanical biological treatment facility (Bio-MRF) in Rainham where rubbish is processed and 50 per cent is turned into fuel.

The plant also separates metals and glass to be reused in industry.

According to the council a dedicated vehicle to collect green sacks would cost between �85,000 and �170,000 annually.

Council leader Cllr Michael White said: “We have had to raise the price of green bags by five pence per sack to cover the increasing operational costs.

Composting

“Both black and green sacks are taken to the Bio-MRF facility and last year this generated more than 4,000 tonnes of compostable material.

“We would encourage everyone to take part in composting and in three years 7,750 people have purchased a compost bin.

“Another alternative is our wheelie bin scheme and we expect around 16,500 people to sign up to this service this year and have their green waste taken away to be composted.”