AFTER a five-year battle, work finally began this week to build a new household recycling centre for Devizes. It is the tenth such centre to be built in the county and is due to open in June.

It is being built on the site originally chosen by the county council, but the route to recycling in Devizes has been a rocky one. Electronics firm Tamura Hinchley objected to the recycling centre being erected close to its Hopton Industrial Estate factory.

Wiltshire County Council then tried to build it on land at its former depot at Horton Road, but local residents objected strongly and it was found that the land had a covenant on it, barring any development that might cause nuisance to neighbours.

Attention then switched back to Hopton Industrial Estate and another site. Work was progressing on that when the original site became available again. By that time, Tamura Hinchley had closed its factory and only sales and administrative work was being carried out at its Devizes' premises.

The new household recycling centre in Devizes is part of the county council's strategy to persuade local people to reduce, reuse and recycle. Households in Wiltshire produce around 250,000 tonnes of household rubbish that currently goes into the county's landfill sites.

The amount of rubbish produced in the county is expected to rise by 16,170 tonnes in 2004/05 and to cost an extra £610,000 to dispose of. This cost accounts for a half of one per cent of this year's 5.98 per cent council tax rise.

The £400,000 site is being built for Wiltshire County Council by waste disposal contractor Hills Minerals and Waste Ltd.

The new recycling centre will be open seven days a week. People will be able to take a variety of household rubbish to the centre for recycling including paper, glass, cans, textiles, cardboard, plastic bottles, green waste, timber, metals, fridges and cookers, rubble and soil.

Car batteries and oil will also be welcome at the centre for processing and recycling. Bulky household rubbish will also be accepted at the centre for disposal at landfill sites.

The household recycling centres complement the network of smaller mini-recycling centres that can be found at supermarkets, pubs and car parks. The household recycling centres, however, are able to deal with a wider range of recyclable materials and bulkier items such as fridges.