Controversial plans to replace recycling boxes across Wokingham with waterproof plastic sacks, in a bid to save £400,000 a year, are back on track.

Wokingham Borough Council’s Executive approved plans to borrow £288,000 on July 30, so it can purchase the reusable and sealable sacks, that are also known as hessian sacks.

Recent rule changes mean recycling plants no longer accept wet card and paper, and the council predicts that 4,000 tonnes of Wokingham’s rain-soaked recycling could be rejected each year.

That will cost the council around £600,000 a year.

Plans to purchase the sacks were put on hold after the Liberal Democrats called for the move to be reviewed by the council’s Extraordinary, Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on August 26.

Cllr John Kaiser, executive member for finance, said: “I am reliably informed that the cost of the delay in implementing this is around £13,000 a week – that’s more than 50 per cent of the total weekly revenue we collected from car parking across the borough pre Covid-19.

“So you can understand the urgency and my keenness to make sure the money was made available, should the implementation be agreed at a further meeting of the Executive.”

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He also said the sacks, which last around five years, are an interim measure and the council will review its recycling collection programme in 18 months.

At the meeting, councillor Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat) claimed the Executive approved the £288,000 borrowing without proper scrutiny as the public and councillors were not provided with enough information about the move beforehand.

He criticised plans to replace recycling boxes with plastic hessian sacks, claiming they tear easily, become heavy and difficult to move when full and “blow away easily” when empty.

He also asked why the council won’t provide people with wheelie bins or plastic caps for the recycling boxes, to protect the recycling from the rain.

Cllr Parry Bath, executive member for the environment, insists the waterproof sacks are “the most appropriate option”.

He said: “The weighted bags are waterproof, reusable, sealable and scored the highest in terms of the ability to maximise recycling.

“They have the least financial impact on the council and minimum impact on the existing waste services.”

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He said the council believes it can save over £400,000 a year by introducing the sealable sacks.

Cllr Bath said: “The cost of implementing this scheme will be around £197,000 a year, which is significantly more beneficial than if we did nothing.

“That’s a net gain of £403,000 a year.”

The council’s Extraordinary, Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee reviewed the decision to borrow £288,000 for the sacks at the meeting on August 26 and they ultimately backed it, following a heated discussion.

The council insists it has not bought the plastic sacks yet, but ensured the money is available to buy them.

It is expected to approve plans to purchase the sacks in September.