LAVERSTOCK district councillor Ian McLennan has hit out at Salisbury district council, saying failure to invest in recycling this year could spell trouble for taxpayers.

The department for the environment, food and rural affairs has turned down Wiltshire Waste Partnership's bid to expand its kerbside recycling scheme.

Government money would have ensured that Salisbury district council and other WWP partners could meet strict government guidelines, which require local authorities to recycle a minimum of 31 per cent of their household waste by 2010.

Despite calls from the council's environment and transport scrutiny committee for a contingency plan to be put in place, Mr McLennan said the council now faced a large deficit, as a result of the failed bid, and taxpayers could end up footing the bill.

Concerns have also been raised that SDC will miss out on further grants, given to authorities that meet government targets and demonstrate investment of their own money in recycling schemes.

Mr McLennan said: "The game plan was to extend kerbside collection to include those sorts of things we are able to recycle at recycling centres, such as glass, plastics and textiles.

"By not having the government money, there is no grant that gets anywhere near it.

"It has to be got from reserves or from reevaluating the budget and we need to be seen as an investing council.

"We cannot rely on Defra, it is vital that we do some investing this year from our own money."

Salisbury district council portfolio holder for environment and transport Dennis Brown said the district council would be able to meet government guidelines, despite the partnership's failed Defra bid.

He is also in talks with the waste partnership to establish ways of funding the kerbside scheme and said ratepayers would not be affected.

"I don't see a problem, because we can recycle even without the government bid and recycle 28 per cent or more by 2007/8, which gives us two more years to increase that by two per cent," he said.

Mr Brown added that new kerbside recycling lorries were already on order, demonstrating the partnership's confidence about meeting the 2010 target.

Plans are also in place to establish a series of mini-recycling centres in rural areas, allowing residents better access to recycling facilities and providing homeowners across Salisbury with polythene sacks to encourage increased paper recycling.