EPPING Forest District Council has defended its record on recycling, after government figures showed the amount of household waste recycled by the authority fell in the last year.

Instead of meeting the government's target of 28 per cent in 2003-04 it achieved 20 per cent, one per cent below its 2002-03 figure.

Meanwhile neighbouring Harlow, which was set a target of ten per cent, achieved 14 per cent, four per cent better than in 2002-03.

The council believes the introduction of a fortnightly wheelie bin collection service, to be launched later this year, will boost its figure towards its medium-term' target of 36 per cent, as the authority focuses more on doorstep collections rather than relying on people going to bottle banks and recycling centres.

Environmental protection portfolio holder Derek Jacobs, who declared last year's figure was "disappointing", said: "However, since then we have moved swiftly in the right direction by introducing a doorstep glass collection which should help us achieve our initial 28 per cent target, providing people use it."

The council also recycles paper, cans, textiles and seasonal garden waste.

Mr Jacobs added: "I believe recycling has to be the way of the future and in the end we will only be truly successful if we pull together. Householders will have to get used to the idea of separating their waste into different containers and even trying to produce less waste. Otherwise the future looks bleak.

"We will either have to pay more and more in landfill tax to bury our waste in fewer and fewer suitable sites or construct local incinerators with all the environmental and health concerns they bring."

He added: "To put the extra cost of recycling into perspective, current district collection costs are approximately 80p per week per average household and we anticipate the new arrangements will produce an average weekly cost of about 90p a week.

"People tell us in surveys that they think recycling is important. For the sake of our children and grandchildren we have to ask ourselves if this small price is worth paying. For one, I believe it is."