Letters warning residents they face a £75 fine or even prosecution if they put their recycling box out on the wrong day have been branded draconian and heavy handed. But according to the director of Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN) a not-for-profit organisation which carries out research into viable packaging and the problems faced recycling it, city council bosses deserve our sympathies not our scorn. Speaking to The Argus, Director Jane Bickerstaffe said that Brighton’s recycle rate is first class and the idea of levying fines on misplaced boxes was a sad necessity rather than a petty punishment.

She said: “Very few people understand just what a mammoth task councils are faced with and just how little money they have to do it. Everyone wants to put boxes of waste out on their doorstep and see it disappear but no one wants to understand how difficult that process is.

“I think the council have taken the measure out of necessity and I can see why. Boxes and boxes pile up throughout the week and people forget that all of the contents need first to be taken away, then washed with water, then broken down, then made into something useful, then sold again - it‘s a long and costly journey.

“In Brighton, the council have such a great track record for recycling but they face unique problems which residents might not take on board.

“Firstly, boxes of waste sitting out on the streets for days, uncollected, attracts hoards of seagulls that not only create mess but also might destroy the chances of it being of recyclable quality. Aside from animals, weather conditions and dirty rubbish make the process more expensive, so asking people to only put things out on the day they re to be collected is not a petty matter.

“Secondly, the city has unusually narrow streets, which means boxes and bags piling up outside make access difficult and creates hazards for people with prams or wheelchairs. Everyone is keen to look at their own situation but do not consider things from everyone’s perspective.

“In this country we are very quick to complain mainly because the recycling system is over complicated.”

Brighton and Hove City Council told residents in February that they must now separate glass and the waste service Cityclean would leave behind boxes that were incorrectly sorted.

Mrs Bickerstaffe said: “In Europe recycling rates are much higher because they have the simple system of not collecting any glass that must be taken by members of the public to bottle banks instead. All residents must do is sort cans, metal and plastic bottles.

“In this country we’ve kind of made a mountain out of a molehill and people don’t know what they re doing. People try to recycle everything and it makes it unviable.

“There'‘s absolutely no point, for instance, in recycling meat packaging. It’s covered in juices and the cleaning process is too expensive. It’s better to throw it away where it might be burned at an energy recovery plant.

“I’m not sure people would find putting a couple of boxes out on the right day so difficult if they were only putting out what could truly be dealt with.

“I sympathise heavily with councils who have limited money and a lot to do. We want to be able to get rid of everything guilt-free but we don’t want to go to the extra measure of making it easy for our council.

“One of the best things we can get involved in is energy recovery plants where things that are recyclable are burned and the energy is harnessed but so far there are only two main ones in London. No one wants them near them.

“If we adopt the approach that we don’t want things in our back yard, we can’t expect to put things in our front yard and not take responsibility for them.”