Terry Cutmore the Tory leader of Rochford District Council has said: “I wouldn’t welcome anything that changed our present (recycling) system.”

The council has the number one recycling system in the country and has reached a 65 per cent recycling rate. Their system involves householders using three large wheelie bins to separate their food waste, dry recyclable items and any other rubbish.

Cutmore’s comments come amid fears that the Government will introduce new recycling measures. They have said that they want to cut the number of wheelie bins and containers families use to sort their waste and recycling, and stop them clogging up gardens and driveways.

It is understandable that Rochford don’t want to change a system that clearly works for their residents. Cutmore added: “Councils need to be free to work out what is the best system for them, not dictated to. I’m writing to Caroline Spelman to tell her about our success and explain the extremely simple system we have.”

The Government is currently reviewing the policy and has asked businesses, families and councils to contribute their views over the next three months.