A concerned resident has voiced her anger after discovering a Suffolk council’s recycling bags are wrapped in single-use plastic.
Debenham resident Sally Stacpoole said she was shocked by the volume of the plastic film in her recent order of recycling and landfill bags.
Living in a property without road access, Mrs Stacpoole doesn't qualify for a wheelie bin, instead using clear council supplied plastic bags for recycling and grey bags for landfill.
Mrs Stacpoole said: "They used to be delivered in rolls held together with a bit of cardboard - but I'd never thought about the plastic until people began discussing it on television.
"I was completely shocked when I received the recent order. It is absolutely ridiculous to believe they are sending out recycling bags in material that isn't recyclable."
Mrs Stacpoole added there are various other houses in the town in a similar situation to her, and found another friend was also shocked at the discovery.
"They will have delivered these parcels to thousands of households and therefore created a huge amount of plastic waste," she said. "I am stunned."
Mid Suffolk District Council, Mrs Stacpoole's local authority, said they will evaluate possible alternatives and discuss the issue with their supplier.
Jessica Fleming, Mid Suffolk District Council's cabinet member for environment, said: "We understand our supplier issues bundles of 50 recycling sacks in a plastic film, but this generates a small amount of waste when compared to 50 full sack-loads of recycling and it doesn't go to landfill.
"Instead, assuming it's been disposed of carefully and responsibly in general waste, it will be used to generate electricity at our Suffolk energy-from-waste facility.
"We recognise however that society has an issue with packaging and local authorities should not be exempt from that conversation.
"As a result we will be talking to our supplier about the possibility of alternative packaging in future and will continue to evaluate all possible methods to reduce or eliminate plastics from route uses that fall under the district council's capacity to control."
The government has been put under pressure to introduce a ban on single-use plastic, with plastic straws set to be banned from April 2020.
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