A MAN could become the first person in Basildon to be prosecuted for failing to recycle properly.

Basildon Council is drawing up a magistrates’ court case against the Noak Bridge resident, who has yet to be named.

He failed to pay a £75 fixed penalty notice, issued last month, for failing to recycle properly after receiving two warnings.

It comes as a review of the first six months of district-wide compulsory recycling revealed 2,365 official warnings about recycling offences have been sent out.

Initial warnings were sent to 2,261 homes, with 104 of these households then receiving a formal warning letter – the stage before fines are implemented.

Residents are usually warned if they put out black sacks, destined for landfill, if they contain recyclable items.

The review showed Laindon residents were the worst recyclers, with 553 initial warnings and 21 formal warnings sent out.

Vange residents were next worst, with 352 initial warnings and 18 formal letters issued.

Residents in the Ramsden area were the best recyclers, with just four initial warnings and no formal warnings sent.

Noak Bridge was second best, with 22 initial warnings and one formal warning. This was the resident given the fine.

Frank Tomlin, Laindon Park councillor, said: “I am disappointed Laindon has come top of the list for warnings, and would encourage all people to recycle to the maximum effect they can.

“However, I am sure the majority of people in Laindon do still recycle.”

David McPherson-Davis, a parish councillor for Ramsden Crays, which had the best recycling rate, said: “This is positive and proves the majority of people in Crays Hill are conscientious when it comes to recycling.”

Compulsory recycling went live across the district from September last year, with the enforcement review running from November 2009 until the end of June.

Five full-time environmental enforcement officers probe people’s pink and black rubbish sacks, looking for correspondence to identify the offender.

A council report on the review stated: “Officers identified residences which were, apparently, not recycling, as black refuse sacks were being put out for collection but no recyclate was being put out.

“If the black sacks contained recyclate, the resident apparently responsible for putting the refuse out was issued with a stage-one letter.

“The first fixed penalty notice was issued in June, as a specific resident has been identified as allegedly committing three separate offences since January 2010.

“The case is now being prepared for action in the magistrates’ court.”

The report said, since compulsory recycling began, 551 tonnes fewer of black bags were collected compared with the previous year.