Council costs are set to rise as the closure of Tilbury Recycling plant means Thurrock Council will now be using a site in Canning Town.

SITA UK, who own Tilbury Recycling Plant, informed the council that the amount of contamination in Thurrock’s recyclable material had forced them to turn away all other waste from the site.

The Council agreed to drive down the contamination however SITA maintained their desire to close the site on the docks.

An offer to use Barking’s recycling plant was put on the table to Council officials at £61 per tonne, a steep hike from £14.52 per tonne rate as part of their contract at Tilbury.

SITA’s offer was rejected by the council who, subsequently, negotiated a slightly cheaper deal with Bywaters in Canning Town, at £55 per tonne.

Cllr Gerard Rice, the council’s portfolio holder for environment, said: “We believe Sita were looking for excuses to close their Tilbury site but have been gradually lowering their offer to use Barking.

“The problem is they have let us down once, how can we trust them again – plus the fact we are looking at what we can do legally to recoup the difference between the £15 we were paying and the £55 we are paying as from this Monday.

The council have been using the Tilbury Dock site since 2010, when they signed a 7-year contract with the then owners, Nordic Recycling Ltd.

In March 2014, SITA bought the site from the liquidated Nordic but the council were informed that the change in ownership would not affect their contract.

The use of a different plant will not lead to a change in the bin system currently used in Thurrock but waste collections will start from 6am, to avoid the London traffic.

The Council will begin using the Canning Town recycling plant on Monday.