Contaminated recycling from Ashford is being rejected because residents are placing the wrong materials in the wrong bins.

Plastic bags, used nappies and food waste have all been found in green bins across the borough despite the fact that none of these items can be recycled.

This means that after it is collected by Biffa and taken to the recycling plant at Allington, near Maidstone, the entire contents are being rejected because they are ‘contaminated’ with non-recycled material.

It is instead then sent for renewable energy, or landfill in extreme circumstances.

Now, Ashford Borough Council (ABC) is calling on all households to focus on the quality of items they are recycling to prevent this happening in the future, and to help them rise up the recycling league tables.

An ABC spokesman said: “Recently we have seen an increase in the amount of unrecyclable materials being placed in recycling bins; this has resulted in some waste loads being rejected.

“This not only has an effect on Ashford’s recycling rates, but it costs taxpayers an additional £50 for every tonne rejected.”

Since the introduction of the new recycling service in 2013, Ashford has quadrupled its recycling performance, shedding the title of England’s worst recycling local authority.

It has gone from recycling 14% of materials to more than 50%, and is now listed 38th out of 300 in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) 2013-14 recycling league tables.

This resulted in ABC being shortlisted for two categories in the 2015 National Recycling Awards.

The council now wants to rise up even higher on DEFRA’s league table to become one of the top recycling local authorities in the country.

ABC portfolio holder for public interaction and borough presentation, Cllr Clair Bell, said: “After seeing an increased number of un-recyclable materials being placed in recycling bins, we are now encouraging our residents to consider the quality of materials they are recycling.

“We hope that by following these simple steps, residents will be able to effectively recycle much more of their waste which will help maintain the fantastic recycling progress we’ve made so far.”