IN RESPONSE to Mr Roberts-Butler’s comments about Borough of Poole’s bin swap I would like to assure him no bins are being burnt or destroyed and money is not being wasted.

This scheme is using a government grant awarded to Poole for maintaining a weekly collection of black bin waste. The swap is the result of many months of work and involvement by cross-party councillors and officers to look at the best options in Poole to increase recycling.

The financial burden to Poole’s taxpayers is more than £100 per tonne difference in disposing of black bin waste compared to blue bin recycling, amounting to around £10,000 per day.

This scheme will benefit everyone as well as the environment.

Local authorities have different contracts and arrangements concerning the disposal of their waste. Poole’s new bin scheme is designed to increase the capacity for recycling as the types of materials that can be recycled increase.

Most of the large black bins are around 20 years old and past their life expectancy. All collected bins will be broken down and recycled.

It is timely to do the swap now and address the costs of sending recyclable material to landfill. I would urge residents to get behind this and recycle as much as they can.

CLLR XENA DION, portfolio holder for environment and consumer protection, Poole council