Householders are being advised to have tins and bottles collected from their doorsteps as recycling banks are being removed.

The community recycling deposit banks across West Devon are due to be removed in the coming months, warns the borough council.

A Tavistock community group campaigning for an environmentally sustainable future questions the need to remove the banks, as they are an easy and simple way to recycle.

The council says the banks are poorly used and their removal is part of its programme of more efficient waste disposal and recycling service.

Therefore, residents are being advised to leave glass and tin outside their homes for the regular kerbside collection.

Most household recycling can also be taken to the Devon County Council household recycling centres at Crowndale, Tavistock, or Exeter Road Industrial Estate, Okehampton.

A spokesperson for sustainability group Transition Tavistock said: "To maintain and encourage recycling, it's important that everyone in the area finds recycling simple and convenient.

“While kerbside recycling of glass is best for most residents, there will be others, for example tourists, who may rely on these long-established facilities.

“Has the council done any research or consultation to check who had been using them and whether they have a convenient alternative? We were surprised at the short notice of bottle banks closing."

Cllr Jeff Moody, West Devon lead for waste and recycling, said: “As part of our ongoing work to improve the waste and recycling service for residents, we’re removing the recycling banks across West Devon. Notices are being placed on each affected bank to let residents know they will be removed in the coming weeks.

“These sites are now used very little because the recyclable materials that have been placed in recycle banks are already collected weekly from your home. The banks are also expensive to maintain and have unfortunately become regular hotspots for fly‑tipping, which costs council taxpayers even more to clear up.

“In addition, there have been increasing incidents of businesses using the banks to avoid paying for proper commercial waste services which is unfair to West Devon Council taxpayers who end up covering the cost.

“If you have any extra recycling, you can still take it to the Devon County Council Household Recycling Centres in Tavistock or Okehampton.”

Stickers will be placed on the affected banks over the coming week to inform residents that they will be removed in the following month.

The tin and glass banks in Tavistock’s Riverside long-stay car park have recently had a 21-day advance removal notice placed on them.

West Devon’s household collections are sent to Hayedown depot, near Tavistock, collated by type and sent to be recycled. Metals and plastics are sent to Coastal Recycling at Torrington in north Devon.

Meanwhile, a charitable recycling scheme to recycle small household electrical items has been introduced in Devon.

The Fixy project has a new smart-tech donation network with recycling drop-off points in libraries/community spaces/shops and council recycling centres. Items will be refurbished and donated to those in ‘digital poverty’. Drop-off points can be found at Recycle and https://recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/