PEOPLE who recycle food can not line their specialist bins with any plastic bag - not just the compostable ones.

Oxford City Council says there is about 50,000 food recycling caddies and red food bins in regular use by residents.

But in a bid to improve recycling rates, people do not need to use compostable plastic bags inside their bins.

Councillor John Tanner, board member a Clean and Green Oxford said: “Recycling food waste is great for the environment and saves money.

“We estimate that around 30 per cent of the county’s food waste is still binned, and we want to reduce this amount significantly.

“By recycling your food waste, you can ensure that it is put to good use - producing bio gas that’s turned into electricity, as well as soil fertiliser for local farmland.

“Now that residents can use any plastic bag to line their caddies it should make the whole process even simpler.”

The plastic bags are now accepted by the processing plant, as well as carrier bags, compostable liners, and newspaper.

Extracted liner bags are sent to an energy recovery facility, where they are incinerated and turned into energy.

Compostable liners are more expensive than ordinary plastic bags, and can tear or leak, creating a mess.

Anyone wanting to buy plastic caddy liners can do so at a cost of £1.50 for a roll of 40, from Oxford City Council’s depot in Marsh Road.

The only exceptions are black bin bags or anything made from textiles or non-plastic materials.