LEEDS City Council is being urged to plug a recycling gap in Otley.

The town has no facilities for recycling common types of juice and milk cartons, which contain layers of aluminium and/or polyethylene.

Such packaging is also listed under the 'No Thanks' heading by Leeds City Council in its guide to items that can go in household green waste bins.

Otley Town Councillor Mick Bradley (Green, Danefield) is calling on the authority - and local supermarkets - to act.

He said: "The packaging implies they are widely recycled yet in reality these kinds of cartons are impossible to recycle in Otley.

"Neither the city council nor any of the three local supermarkets offer recycling for beverage cartons in Otley.

"Ninety two per cent of local authorities collect beverage cartons for recycling - 67 per cent through kerbside collections and 25 percent at bring banks."

There are five recycling points for 'foil lined' cartons in Leeds, with the nearest to Otley based at the Milner's Road Recycling Site, Yeadon.

Cllr Bradley added: "I suspect few residents are prepared to drive to Yeadon to recycle these cartons and many may end up in the green bin, so why doesn’t Leeds take a serious look at kerbside collection which most other authorities do already?"

Town Council Chairman Councillor Ray Georgeson (Lib Dem, Danefield) and MP Alex Sobel (Lab, Leeds North West) are backing the call.

Mr Sobel said: "Otley residents are unlikely to travel to Yeadon just to recycle their cartons so I support the call for kerbside collections, and I've written to council officers to say so.

"But I realise that I'm asking for Leeds to stretch their resources, already cut to the bone by the Government.

"I will do whatever I can to support the search for alternative ways to fund this scheme, so it doesn’t have a negative impact on other vital council services."

Cllr Georgeson, who works in the resource efficiency sector, said: "Residents are keen to recycle as much as they can and are frustrated to know that they still have very limited options for recycling cartons in Otley.

"I know Leeds are presently reviewing their future recycling collection strategy and I'd encourage them to look at how changing their kerbside collection systems might make sorting and processing these items easier."

A Leeds City Council spokeswoman said: "We are always seeking to balance the need to provide as many opportunities for recycling as possible whilst making sure there is a viable market for items that are collected.

"Many household waste items are recyclable through green bin collections, however we also continue to trial collections of certain waste streams at Bring sites and Household Waste Recycling sites.

"We are trialling the recycling of Tetrapaks at a number of sites and will see if there is a possibility we could trial such a site in Otley."

The authority is also working with the Waste and Resources Action Programme to lobby for legislation for more easily recyclable packaging.