Portsmouth recycling: New bottlebanks to be put in near Tesco in Fratton by city council amid anger at supermarket

Bottlebanks will be added to a roadside verge off Fratton Way by Portsmouth City Council next week in a bid to make sure facilities remain in the area while it has also been confirmed that similar plans are being explored for Port Solent.

The council’s leader, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, said the decision by Tesco to remove its own banks was ‘a retrograde step’ and that several attempts had been made to convince the company to reverse it.

‘Where Tesco have decided to walk away from their responsibilities, the city council has decided to help,’ he said at Tuesday’s (March 14) meeting of the city council. ‘A new set of bottlebanks will be provided by the city council just outside Tesco because the city council cares about recycling where Tesco might not.’

He made the announcement during discussion around a motion which again requested Tesco to bring back bins with supermarkets having a responsibility to help recycle waste packaging brought from stores.

‘Tesco are a very large company that made £3.8bn in profit last year and they should take their responsibility to the environment seriously,’ he added. ‘They sell lots of things in packaging and they should be doing their bit to help people recycle.’

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Councillor Charlotte Gerada said the removal of recycling bins in Fratton had put ‘increased pressure’ on council facilities in Southsea

‘The recycling facilities at Tesco supermarkets are a crucial resource for helping to minimise waste and encourage recycling in our community,’ she said. ‘The Fratton supermarket was a popular location for residents across the city – as was the Tesco in North Harbour. They have a responsibility to help reduce waste and not contribute to it.’

She urged the chain to restore the bins ‘as soon as possible’ but welcomed the announcement that the council would install its own bins.

In December, the cabinet member for environment, councillor Kimberly Barrett wrote to all supermarket chains urging them to provide recycling bins at their Portsmouth stores.