RECYCLING sites could be closed because people are dumping their bags of bottles and cans.

Councillors are urging residents of Hambleton district to put their waste in the recycling banks provided instead of dumping it next to them.

Council workers are forced to spend time cleaning up the sites, time which is allocated to other duties.

Councillors claim the extra work is leading to increased costs for council tax payers.

Hambleton district councillor Arthur Barker said: "A minority of lazy recyclers could herald the end for some of our sites.

"We do not want to remove any of our recycling banks, but if this problem does not stop we may have to take drastic action. These centres are there to help clean up the environment not to be used as a dumping ground.

"We cannot understand why people bother to collect their cans, bottles and papers and take them to the site if they cannot spend a few extra minutes placing them in the correct bins."

Coun Baker said it was quite likely that bags dumped next to the recycling bins would end up in landfill sites.

He said: "This council does not have the staff to keep on cleaning-up after these people.

"All the research we have carried out points to residents wanting to recycle and it is encouraging to see how many people have become recyclers in the past year. We don't want to see that good work undone."

The council operates 29 village recycling centres and five large reccyling centres for glass, paper and aluminium cans in Northallerton, Thirsk, Stokesley, Easingwold and Bedale.