Cotswold District Council has announced plans to withdraw ‘all plastic bottle recycling banks’ by the end of January 2013.

According to a council statement released on Wednesday (2 January), plastic bottle recycling banks are being phased out as a result of the successful implementation of a kerbside collection service for ‘mixed rigid plastic’, first introduced in October 2012.

This announcement makes Cotswold District Council the second local authority in under a month to decommission plastic bottle recycling banks, following a similar move by Epping Forest District Council in December.

Commenting on the plans, Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor David Fowles, said: “Residents have welcomed the introduction of fortnightly kerbside plastic collections and have been very keen to use this service since its introduction.”

Fowles noted that the number of plastic bottles being recycled at such banks has “declined drastically” since kerbside collections began and that, as a result, it is now difficult to justify their £100,000 per year cost.

He added: “We will be promoting a ‘Farewell Plastic Bottle Banks!’ poster campaign around the district to alert residents to the withdrawal of the plastic bottle recycling banks at the end of January, and explain why we are making this considerable saving. We believe that most people will appreciate why we’re doing this.”

Both councils have argued that these plans have been implemented as a result of the success of kerbside collection services, but it could mark a worrying trend, particularly for those living outside the remit of kerbside collection services.

Cotswold residents living in flat or high-rise buildings are able to make use of kerbside collection services, but it operates on an individual basis with residents having to actively request the accepted recycling sacks.

Cotswold District Council will continue to provide recycling banks for paper, cans, glass, cardboard and textiles.

Read more about recycling in the Cotswolds.