TEIGNBRIDGE residents have spoken out about their recycling success as the war on bins continues in the Bay.

Councillor Gordon Hook, Teignbridge Council's executive member for environmental services, says the district's recycling system is a "win-win situation".

His comments come in the midst of a storm of protest against a change to rubbish collection services in Torbay.

"The critical thing residents have to take on board is that it's a win-win situation.

"If this new system can be made to work, then it is a real benefit to the environment, taking away poisonous waste from landfill sites," he said.

Mr Hook added that dry recycling products were sold and the money was put back into the local economy, offsetting some of the cost of the collection process.

He said landfill sites were increasingly filling up and running out of space. High taxes also had to be paid on landfill waste and were continually on the rise.

But Mr Hook, who lives in Newton Abbot, admitted he faced a similar backlash when the system was first introduced in Teignbridge. "Initially, there was a huge outcry. I personally dealt with 600 to 1,000 letters and replied to them individually trying to explain the way forward.

"I also dealt with phone calls from irate residents.

"The outcry for me locally was horrendous. I don't think people like any alteration to their lifestyle. This was asking them for a change in their behaviour and dealing with the way they got rid of their waste.

"The system has very much settled down now and we have been in the top ten in the country for recycling in the last six or seven years," he said.

Residents in Teignbridge have separate bins for compost, cloudy plastic, mobile phones, printer cartridges and glass; tins, paper and aerosols; food and garden waste; and another bin for non-recyclable waste.

There is also a facility to collect clean unwanted textiles.

Mum-of-three Jackie Brodie, of Bowden Hill, Newton Abbot, secretary of Transition Town Newton Abbot, says she fully supports the district's recycling system.

"To me, it's straightforward and automatic," she said. "It's the natural thing to do.

"Now if I go somewhere where there aren't the same recycling facilities, it's strange.

"It's very easy. When you think about it, you prepare a meal, cook and do the washing-up. The disposal of your waste is a minute proportion of your time."

She said her teenage children had been brought up using the recycling system and it was something she saw as being important for the future.

She added: "There's a lot of public support for recycling now and people have grown to like the idea and have started to demand more recycling facilities."