East Suffolk Council has already authorised the introduction of a new 240 litre recycling bin to homes in the district at a cost of £3.5 million.

But councillor Robert Cawley, who represents Rushmere St Andrew ward, has called for the roll-out to be halted and for the council to visit Solihull in the West Midlands, where he said an automated recycling plant had been successful.

READ MORE: Roll out of new east Suffolk bin will cost £3.5 million

In particular, he highlighted how the plant had successfully resolved issues with contamination and improved the selling of end waste products.

At a council meeting on Wednesday (September 25), he said: “I appreciate how far we have progressed, however, moving to having five bins per household for me seems like a costly step backwards.

“Can this administration halt its current plans and investigate how we can lead the way in east Suffolk in fully automated recycling?

“By successfully replicating Solihull, we could save taxpayers money and make additional financial gains by selling our recycled waste products.”

Responding to Mr Cawley, councillor Sally Noble, cabinet member for the environment, said she would discuss the possibility of visiting Solihull with officers.

READ MORE: Ipswich households could have five waste and recycling bins

But she warned sites would need to be identified and planning applications submitted, along with tendering, procurement and structuring.

“With regard to developing our own facilities, this would take several years to bring online,” she said.

She added the extra bin was being provided to encourage residents to recycle more, with figures showing that recycling rates in the district were at 40%, with the council having set a target of achieving 60% recycling by 2030.

Additionally, the council worked with waste management firm Biffa to deliver economies of scale, with the authority outperforming national benchmarks for the resale of recycled commodities.

The new green wheeled bin is being rolled out in east Suffolk and will supplement an existing blue lidded bin as part of a “Twin-Stream” dry recycling collection system.

The bins will be supplied to more than 100,000 homes in the district.

Currently, recyclables such as plastics, card and paper are collected in the one bin.