Rother houses feed the green machine

Waste contractors Verdant began collecting Bexhill's waste in June 2007. Then, they were picking up 17 per cent of household rubbish, a figure which is now 43 per cent.

Madeleine Gorman, head of amenities at Rother District Council (RDC), told a scrutiny committee meeting on Monday: "We are way ahead of the other districts and boroughs around East Sussex.

"We have achieved an enormous increase since 2007. The residents of Rother must be congratulated."

Nearby Hastings Borough Council collects 26.9 per cent of waste, and Eastbourne Borough Council takes 31.7.

But 1,000 Rother homes still have no pick-up points for their bins, something Ms Gorman blamed on terraced houses that may be subdivided.

"And of course the general reluctance of landlords and managers to have the Brighton-style bins on the streets," she added. "That may be an option for the future."

Cllr Charlie Clark, of Bexhill St Michael's ward, praised Verdant's binmen, saying: "I think they are doing extremely well. When you think we are doing 30,000 collections, it's quite an achievement."

But Cllr Kathryn Field, of Battle ward, said recycling was not a long-term solution.

She said: "What we should be doing is reducing the amount of waste we produce in the first place. It's good we are not doing landfill so much, but recycling is never going to be a final solution."

Members also praised the binmen for working over bank holidays, and reminded them not to block residents' driveways when returning collection bins. Cllrs Field and Brian Kentfield, of Bexhill Kewhurst ward, agreed this troubled their patches.

RDC reviews recycling facilities for cardboard, currently not collected, this summer.