Man warned for recycling office supplies
15/01/2007 13:17

Recycling officials in Hampshire have been lambasted for telling a resident that he had dumped illegal waste by putting shredded office supplies in his collection box.

Electrical engineer Neil Prowse was dismayed to discover a yellow sticker on his recycling box telling him of his misdeed and claims to be dismayed that disposal facilities have been designed which cannot cope with basic office supplies, such as paper.

A spokesman for Project Integra, the organisation responsible for dealing with recycling in Hampshire, claims that shredded paper is deemed a fire risk and can cause havoc for the sorting and processing machines designed to deal with recycling as it is too small and light to be properly processed.

However, speaking to the Southern Daily Echo, Mr Prowse said: "Why were machines designed without the capability to handle the stuff when there's so much of it around and with the increasing threat of identity fraud this is just likely to increase?

"It almost makes me feel like just not recycling at all, but we will of course."

Consumer watchdogs and environmental groups have also backed Mr Prowse in his dismay at being told off for recycling, with a Friends of the Earth spokesman saying: "We need to make recycling easy so that more people actively take part. But asking people to separate different types of paper because council's recycling machines can't deal with them is not going to encourage more people to go green."

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