Pots and pans included in Mid Devon recycling

Recycling will now include certain pots and pans in Mid Devon

Unwanted pots and pans will be included permanently in kerbside recycling in Mid Devon after a successful trial.

A three-month trial between February and May was carried out by Mid Devon District Council with a total of 453 properties participating from Willand and 346 in Uffculme.

The council said the take up was low with less than 3% of trial households in Willand participating and less than 1.5% from Uffculme.

Councillor Luke Taylor, the leader of the council, told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday while the uptake was low he thought it "shows we are a forward-looking council".

He said: "I don't know how many other councils collect pots and pans, but I doubt it is a significant number and it is important to show this council is always looking to do more.

"We already collect the most items in Devon, including collecting small electrical items. It's amazing what residents can put out in their recycling and so the focus now is on making sure we tell residents what we do collect."

Councillor Josh Wright, who submitted a report to the cabinet about the trial, said the trial showed it was "operationally feasible".

He said: "If this was permanently introduced, it could further enhance our capabilities and environmental reputation, even though there would be a minimal effect on our recycling rate.

"But the trial was useful to understand potential participation rates and residents did initially used the service but then usage dropped off, making it difficult to predict future usage across the district."

The cabinet backed making the trial permanent with officers stating it could be rolled out from October, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Officers added it would make clear exactly which types of pots and pans could be recycled - those with Teflon coating may not qualify, but more modern non-stick coatings should be accepted.