A SARCASTIC tweet from a councillor has re-opened the city's long-running debate over recycling rates - and this time, it seems, it's personal.

On Thursday evening Green Councillor Tom Druitt posted online a picture of an overflowing rubbish receptacle just inside the door to Hove Town Hall.

He tweeted: "No wonder @BrightonHoveCC is so terrible at #recycling, there isn’t even a facility in the main reception!

"Just a general waste bin with two recyclable plastic bottles, an aluminium can and a whole load of #singleuseplastic cups :-("

His Green colleague Councillor Louisa Greenbaum replied: "Not exactly setting a good example! Where there is no will, there is no way."

And Tory Councillor Steve Bell, who recently accused Labour of "just paying lip service" on policies against single-use plastics, replied: "Says it all really mate, very sad.

"Why isn’t the Labour administration delivering on the will of Council and residents. Sets the wrong example for the whole city."

The Argus asked the administration for comment.

Labour group political assistant Helen Weir replied with an email titled: "Argus query - Greens slag off council re recycling - unclassified."

Her statement, attributed to a Labour spokesman, states: "Cllr Druitt seems to be hoping to distract from his own party’s dismal record on recycling in the city – on a bin by bin basis.

"It is almost as if he doesn’t have a reason to come into the Town Hall.

"If he did, he would regularly pass the office recycling bins for paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and cans.

"He can recycle glass at the outside bins. A second report on Single Use Plastics is coming to committee in July.”

Councillor Druitt replied: "It’s a shame Labour have turned this into a political football rather than actually dealing with the issue.

"My tweet didn’t mention any party, it only stated the obvious which is that the council is terrible at recycling.

"This has been the case for many years, but Labour promised to get the basics right and have had three years to do so. However Brighton and Hove continues to languish at the bottom of recycling league tables, and with this latest outburst we get an insight into why.

"It’s not good enough to say there are other facilities nearby, the fact is if you have rubbish in your hand you want to get rid of you shouldn’t have to go out of your way to find a recycling facility - they should be provided alongside the general waste bins.

"It’s time Labour stopped making excuses and blaming everyone else and got on with doing something about it.”

BACKGROUND

Brighton and Hove's recycling has been criticised for not allowing many plastic products recycled elsewhere to be recycled.

Additionally, last September The Argus reported fifty tonnes a week of good quality cardboard set aside by householders for recycling is instead being incinerated, following interviews with whistleblowers.

That amount constitutes around one fifth of the cardboard collected daily from Brighton and Hove’s recycling bins and processed at Veolia’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Hollingdean.

Mark Turner, branch secretary of the GMB union, confirmed several of his members with access to the site had made similar reports.

The council said an investigation found no such activity.